A 38-page complaint has been lodged before the Office of the Ombudsman against Matag-ob, Leyte Mayor Bernardino Tacoy, 13 municipal officials and local police personnel for allegedly hosting an illegal three-day cockfighting event during the town’s annual fiesta in June.
Filed by resident Jennifer Torrevillas and received by the Ombudsman on August 6, the affidavit-complaint accuses local officials of organizing and permitting cockfights on June 11, 13 and 14 without obtaining the mandatory police clearance.
Named alongside Tacoy are Vice Mayor Romeo Albarida, members of the Sangguniang Bayan, Municipal Licensing Officer Jose Jasper Edullantes and former Matag-ob police chief Maj. Jay Núñez Zamora.
The complaint said the event was greenlit via Sangguniang Bayan Resolution No. 26-163 and a mayor’s permit. However, Torrevillas cited a July 8, 2026 certification from the Leyte Police Provincial Office (LPPO) explicitly stating that it “had not issued any certification of no objection, clearance, permit or similar document for the cockfighting event.”
While the municipal resolution specified the town gymnasium as the venue, the matches were reportedly staged at a temporary cockpit constructed in Barangay Bonoy under the guise of fiesta entertainment for visitors and balikbayans.
The complaint also highlighted statements Tacoy made during a June 22 flag-raising ceremony and in a subsequent interview, where he claimed that the event was fully authorized and backed by a PNP clearance, a claim the LPPO certification directly contradicts.
The respondents face potential criminal charges for violating Presidential Decree No. 449 (Cockfighting Law of 1974) and Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act). Additionally, administrative charges were filed for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, abuse of authority, gross neglect of duty, and breaches of Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees).
Torrevillas requested that the Ombudsman place the respondents under preventive suspension while investigating their potential liabilities.
Defending his administration, Tacoy maintained that the cockfighting event was conducted legally and that the municipal government had secured all necessary permits and clearances.