Cockpit operators and or owners who called themselves Bohol Cockpit Operators Association won a temporary relief yesterday from their present predicament where they are barred from holding cockfights other than Sundays and legal holidays. This developed after the Regional Trial Court Branch 49 through Presiding Judge Fernando Fuentes III issued an ex parte temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the provincial director of the Philippine National Police from implementing the provision of the Cockfighting Law of the Phils. prohibiting the holding of cockfights other than Sundays and legal holidays. The TRO was effective for only 72 hours from yesterday. The declaratory relief was issued to prevent the respondent, Senior Supt. Edgardo Ingking, in pursuing any intended acts now the subject of the instant case. Judge Fuentes also ordered that summons would be served to the parties involved in the civil action for Injunction with Prayer for the issuance of a Writ of Preliminary Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order. A special raffle is scheduled tomorrow.

In a petition filed by Arturo Tan and lawyer Peter Emman Mende, operators of the Duero and Dauis cockpits, respectively, they contended that the respondent has attempted to stop and continues to threaten to stop cockfighting in the province of Bohol if conducted on days other than Sundays and legal holidays. The respondent cited as basis for his threatened action Presidential Decree 449 known as the Cockfighting Law of the Phils. of 1974 and Executive Order 02-A-01 issued by Gov. Erico Aumentado in 2003. Both laws limit cockfighting to Sundays and holidays. Before the full implementation of the law which was effective last January, Duero and Dauis used to hold cockfights during Saturdays. Other cockpits conducted theirs from Monday until Friday. It was the unabated holding of cockfights that drove Gov. Aumentado to regulate the holding of cockfights in conformity with the provision of PD 449. The petitioners likewise argued that the full enforcement of the law will inflict irreparable damage and injury to the operators as they will be unjustly deprived of a lawful business and at the same time suffer irrecoverable business opportunity losses. The complainants likewise averred that the operators have the legal right to conduct cockfighting activities in their respective licensed cockpits on Saturdays instead of Sundays, based on their respective franchises, mayor's permits and authorities from their Sangguniang Bayan.