Kung hilig ka’g “kaka” o “damang,” undange na na!
The Queen City of the South has an ordinance banning selling and buying of native spiders, as well as participating in “spider fighting.”
Cebu City Ordinance No. 2285 states, “An ordinance prohibiting and penalizing the catching, buying, and/or selling of native spiders and spider fighting in Cebu City.” It also indicates the prohibited acts, such as
Section 4
- a. Pag organisar o pagmugna para sa pagpasabong sa “KAKA o DAMANG”
- b. Pagkuha ug “KAKA o DAMANG” para ibaligya
- c. Pagpamalit ug “KAKA o DAMANG”
- d. Pagpamaligya ug “KAKA o DAMANG”
PENALTIES
In detail, the ordinance has accompanying penalties for the violators:
- First Offense – Php 500.00
- Second Offense – Php 1,000.00
- Third Offense – Php 2,000.00 plus 3 months imprisonment, depending on the court’s decision.
And if you can’t pay the fine, then you’d have to render 8 hours of community service at the Barangay where you were caught. In addition, violators below 18 years old will be required to undergo counseling with their parents at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
HOW A CHILD’S GAME BECAME AN ILLEGAL ACT
Spider fighting just used to be a child’s game where young boys will have their caught spiders compete to be crowned as the strongest among the rest. However, everything took a turn when adults with corrupted minds started doing it as a way to gamble and raise bets. This is when the laws of our country, the Philippines, amended Republic Act 9287 to include spider fighting in our anti-illegal gambling law.
What started as a seemingly just-for-fun game has not become a reason for some individuals to face jail time for a minimum of 3 months.
