Iloilo town tries to keep bullfighting tradition

ILOILO CITY–Officials in the southern Iloilo town of San Joaquin are trying to find ways to retain the annual bullfighting locally known as Pasungay, which was cancelled last weekend amid accusations of animal cruelty.

Town Councilor Joe Abad S. Lazaro Jr. told Manila Bulletin Wednesday the Pasungay, which features a fight between two carabaos (water buffaloes), is integral to San Joaquin’s cultural heritage.

Lazaro reiterated the decision of Mayor Ninfa Serag Garin to cancel the Jan. 19 bullfight was to avoid any legal problems for the carabao owners, spectators and the town itself.

A group known as Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) had denounced the event as a violation of Republic Act No. 10631 or the Amended Animal Welfare Act.

Local officials are now seeking experts to interpret the law or if a provision can be made to allow the future holding of Pasungay without any implication.

San Joaquin has been holding the Pasungay for over a century. In the photo book Recuerdos de Filipinas, there is an picture of a bullfight taken by Felix Laureano in Iloilo sometime late in the 1800s.

Tourism Officer Erlyn Alunan saidthe Pasungay draws an annual crowd of more than 10,000 and helps boost the local economy.

Meanwhile, Lazaro refused to comment if the mounting political attack against the Garin clan is the reason behind AKF’s protest against the Pasungay, which never encountered any protest in the past.