WARAY-WARAY

CARREO by Rolando S. Luzong

Peoples Tonight (January 30, 2010)

WARAY-WARAY

I am writing this article in an internet shop somewhere in Ormoc City and I am currently wrestling with sleepiness so I can finish this article and be able to email it to my editor just before we hit the road again for a 4-hour trip to Catbalogan, Samar where another derby is set today, January 30, hosted by my good friend Bernie Tacoy (www.ormocgold.com) – breeder of the Ormoc Gold and one of Thunderbird’s latest addition to its fleet of endorsers who are respected cockfighters in their own rights.

Who won’t get sleepy like me after having treated myself to a bowl of PACDOL – the local bulalo and a plate of BALBACUA – an asado-like dish that is perked up with sweat-inducing siling labuyo. Doro’s Carenderia, where I ate also serves PINAWIKAN & PACLAY, which are, like PACDOL & BALBACUA are diifferent ways of cooking carabao (kabaw) meat. Also avalivale is CALDERITAS which is goat meat cooked in sauce and also the SINAJE which is pork intestine made brown and crispy.

It’s probably my seventh-time to set foot in Ormoc and it is slowly becoming a second home for me.

Last Wednesday, Bernie hosted a 3-cock derby in Buraen Amusement Center in the Buraen, Leyte – which is apparently the biggest producer of copra in the whole province and in the middle of my conversation with the good vice mayor, I have suggested a Burauen Copra Festival just like the Lansones Festival in Camiguin. In Buraen is where I saw the biggest number of parked motorcycles in my whole life. There’s thousand of them, all owned by the derby fans.

The January 27^th Buraen fight was a day to cherished. We were already at the pit and enjoying the fights when some of the foreign participants to the just-concluded 2010 World Slasher Cup arrived and the first one to notice me who immediately gave me a big hug was Mexican-American Speedy Gonzales - a six-footer former athlete who acquired the name Speedy because he was a fast runner and football player years ago. With him were Brad Padgeth of Oregon, Bob Ray from Vallejo, California, Clive Amos from England and Australian Glenn Nonnemacher. Despite coming from different countries they are bounded by their deep love and passion for sabong.

I had them acknowledged and introduced to the crowd by the Pit Manager, after which, Speedy gave a response on behalf of his colleagues. He said, in broken English and Tagalog “Maraming salamat pow. You must know how lucky you are, because you can sabong anytime and anywhere without fear of being arrested by the police. I would like to let you know that we are now treated like criminals in our country because we allowed the animal rights activist like the PETA to sow intrigue and misinformation about sabong. Do not allow that to happen in the Pilipinas, fight them. Also, see to it that you elect people who are sabungeros or is a supporter of sabong. Also, teach your children about sabong. Give the young boys roosters so that they will know how to take care of them and so that they will not believe the bad things that the animal rights activists are saying about sabong.” This was greeted with a thunderous applause by the crowd.

A Project for the Backyard Breeder in Waray Country

My main reason for coming to Wary country was to implement a project that I and Bernie have of for the backyard-breeders of Waray land. The said project is called BGT Cup (Backyard-Breeders Gamefowl Testing – Competitiveness Upgrade Program) and is aimed to provie comprehensive training and a springboard competition for backyard breeders of the provinces of Samar & Leyte, in preparation to competing in the big leagues such as Bakbakan, Heritage Cup or Rambulan.

The program is for backyard gamefowl breeders of Leyte & Samar, particularly new breeders who have not tried competing in a derby. They should not be a member of any association affiliated with the National Federation of Gamefowl Breeders or the United Gamecock Breeders Association.. Thru seminars, flyers or DVD, backyard breeders will be educated and trained in the basics of stag derby fighting which will include stag selection, preconditioning, conditioning, pointing and the process by which a stag derby is done (submission, matching, sequencing etc).

A wingbanding of cockerels in Leyte & Samar will be implemented on the month of March. To qualify for wingbanding, a backyard breeder should have attended a Derby Orientation & Opposition Readiness Seminar (DOORS)

The two (2) BGT-CUP derbies will be: a) a 3-Stag Derby on the 3^rd week of August and a 4-Stag Derby on the 4^th week of August.

The 3-Stag Derby will require an entry fee of P2,200 plus empty packs of Thunderbird Power Feeds & Thunderbird Power Vet. All participants will receive free gift packs from Thunderbird. Winners can win as much as P100,000 cash prize plus trophy and jacket for the champion. Minimum bet P2,200.

All participants who will compete in both events will automatically receive a free quality young brood pullet from BGT Game Farm.

All who will participate in both events will be qualified for the BGT-CUP Breeder of the Year in their locality (Ex. – BGT-CUP Leyte-Samar Breeder of the Year) based on the total points scored in the two derbies. The local Breeder of the Year will receive a special trophy and a BGT CUP Breeder of the Year jacket and P30,000-worth of Thunderbird Power Feeds & Thunderbird Power Vet products plus a young quality Ormoc Gold trio (1 broodcock & 2 broodhens) from Bernie G. Tacoy of BGT Game Farm.

After the derby tomorrow, I’ll be flying to Iloilo for the Candelaria where my good friend Yuac Estrella is fighting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my god friend and adopted brother Sonny Lagon on his 40^th birthday (he stopped counting at 40) on February 2. Mabuhay ka Pareng Sonny.