A stag derby is a derby for young roosters, and the sources define its terms precisely. The 2022 facts come first: online e-sabong was stopped nationwide on 3 May 2022 by President Duterte’s spoken order, and Executive Order No. 9, signed by President Marcos on 28 December 2022, formally suspended e-sabong operations nationwide. What PD 1602 says about cockfighting is set out in the PD 1602 cockfighting text.
What stag derby means
The National Federation of Gamefowl Breeders, Inc. (NFGB) prints its definitions as Rule No. 1 of its Unified Derby Rules.
It defines a derby as “a cockfighting event organized by the federation or a promoter where the participants agree to fight a given number of cocks matched according to parity or proximity in weights”.
The older legal word sits in Presidential Decree No. 449, Section 4(a), which says cockfighting means “cockfighting derby, pintakasi or tupada”.
Term
Definition printed
Source
Stag
young rooster 12 months or younger
NFGB Rule 1
Bullstag
stag older than 12 months
NFGB Rule 1
Derby
event with matched cocks and a pot
NFGB Rule 1
Bullstag derby and the age line
The federation defines a bullstag as “a stag more than twelve (12) months of age (the stage in a rooster’s life between stag and cock)”. It adds that, unless otherwise qualified, the word cock also includes stag and bullstag. A bullstag derby therefore takes its name from that middle age class.
Class
Age line printed
Derby name
Stag
12 months or younger
stag derby
Bullstag
more than 12 months
bullstag derby
Cock
the general word
cock derby
Weights in a stag derby and a cock derby
Rule No. 5 of the federation rules sets the weight of a stag or cock fought in a derby. The rule prints two figures, one per derby type.
Stag derby: not less than 1.7 kg nor more than 2.2 kg.
Cock derby: not less than 1.9 kg nor more than 2.45 kg.
Rule No. 9 then pairs the birds by weight, with a gap of 20 grams for stags weighing 1.9 kg or lower. The step that pairs birds on an ordinary sabong day is covered in ulutan pairing.
How the derby fits with the other cockpit words
A derby is an event, and the other cockpit words name parts inside an event. Bulang in Cebuano names the cockfight and the blade, and the largada release names the call before the birds are let go.
Worked example under the Rule 5 stag derby range of 1.7 kg to 2.2 kg:
Stag weight
Inside the range
1.6 kg
no, below 1.7 kg
2.0 kg
yes
2.3 kg
no, above 2.2 kg
The weights and the age line are the only figures this page quotes. The federation’s prize pots and entry fees are its own business and are not repeated here.
Sources used: NFGB Unified Derby Rules (Rules 1, 5 and 9, reproduced at gtte.wordpress.com) and PD 449 on lawphil.net.
FAQ
What is a stag derby?
It is a derby, as the National Federation of Gamefowl Breeders defines the term, where the birds fought are stags: young roosters twelve months of age or younger.
What is a bullstag?
The federation rules define a bullstag as a stag more than twelve months of age, the stage in a rooster's life between stag and cock.
Is a bullstag derby the same as a stag derby?
The two names split by the age classes the federation defines, stag and bullstag. The weight limits the federation prints are for a stag derby and a cock derby.
Is derby a word in the law?
Yes. Section 4(a) of Presidential Decree No. 449 says cockfighting means the commonly known game or term cockfighting derby, pintakasi or tupada.
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