JL4 Llamado Dehado: Favourite and Underdog at the Cockpit
Llamado dehado are terms from the licensed cockpit, since e-sabong has been suspended since 2022: the llamado is the favoured bird and the dehado is the underdog.
- JL4 PD 449 Cockfighting Law, Section by Section
- The PD 449 cockfighting law of 9 May 1974 is what traditional cockfights still run under while e-sabong stays suspended since 2022.
- JL4 Sabong Hand Signals
- Sabong hand signals belong to the licensed cockpit, since e-sabong has been suspended since 2022: bettors use them to tell the kristo which side they back and in what denomination.
- JL4 Answers Is E-Sabong Legal
- E-sabong is not legal to offer or bet on: operations were suspended nationwide on 3 May 2022, and Executive Order No. 9 of 28 December 2022 directs that the suspension continue.
- JL4 Sabong Arena
- A sabong arena is the licensed cockpit of PD 449, the one lawful place for a cockfight now that e-sabong has been suspended since 2022.
- JL4 Explains What Is Tupada
- What is tupada in everyday use: a cockfight held outside a licensed cockpit or outside the allowed days, unlawful under PD 449 just as online sabong has been suspended since 2022.
Before the vocabulary, the law: e-sabong operations were suspended nationwide on 3 May 2022, and Executive Order No. 9, signed by President Marcos on 28 December 2022, directed the continued suspension. Traditional cockfights licensed under existing laws are outside that order. This page decodes llamado dehado as cockpit culture, inside our sabong Philippines wider view, and it asks nothing of you but to read.
Llamado dehado: the two words
The llamado is the favoured bird, the one the crowd expects to win. The dehado is the underdog, the bird the crowd rates lower. The pair describes expectation, not an official ranking.
| Word | Meaning | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Llamado | The favoured bird | Bettors, bet callers and spectators |
| Dehado | The underdog | Bettors, bet callers and spectators |
| Meron | One of the two sides of the ring | Callers and bettors |
| Wala | The other side of the ring | Callers and bettors |
Meron and wala name sides, so the llamado can be on either one in a given fight. A bettor follows the call in the pit rather than assuming a side.
Who decides which bird is which
PD 449 never uses the words llamado or dehado, so no clause settles the question. What the decree does name are the roles around the fight, and in practice the call comes from the betting side of the cockpit.
- The bet taker or promoter calls and takes care of bets from the owners of both gamecocks and from other bettors before ordering the fight to begin.
- The gaffer, or taga tari, arms the fighting cocks with gaffs.
- The referee, or sentenciador, oversees the gaffing, judges the cocks’ condition and decides the result.
The kristo is the bet caller who works the crowd. The way he and the bettors communicate is the subject of our page on how sabong hand signals work.
Llamado dehado and the referee’s decision
The referee does not pick a favourite and does not rule on bets. Section 4 says he decides and makes known his decision by words or gestures. Whether a bird was the llamado or the dehado has no effect on that decision.
| What the referee weighs | Section 4 wording |
|---|---|
| Proper gaffing of the fighting cocks | Watches and oversees it |
| Physical condition and injuries | Determines the cocks’ condition and the injuries sustained |
| Ability to continue | Judges the cocks’ capability to continue fighting |
| Result | Announces the winner, declares a tie, or declares a no contest |
This is why the labels belong to culture and not to law. A cockpit licensed under PD 449 follows the decree’s roles, and the labels only describe the room’s expectations.
Why this vocabulary matters after 2022
Everything on this page describes the traditional cockpit. Live-streaming a cockfight outside the cockpit, and betting on it online, are the two activities Executive Order No. 9 suspends, as our page on the e-sabong suspension of 2022 explains.
Three things to remember:
- Llamado and dehado are live-cockpit words, and a screen cannot make a fight a licensed one.
- If you meet them on a site that asks you to place a wager from a screen, you are looking at a red flag.
- Players must be 21 or older.
Setting your own limits comes first, and the responsible play at 21+ page lists the limits you can set.
FAQ
What does llamado mean?
Llamado is the cockpit word for the favoured bird, the one the crowd expects to win. It is cockpit slang, and PD 449 does not use the word.
What does dehado mean?
Dehado is the underdog, the bird seen as less likely to win. Together with llamado it names the two sides of a fight by expectation.
What are meron and wala?
Meron and wala are the two sides of the ring that a fight is called by. They name the sides, while llamado and dehado describe the expectation about each bird.
Who decides the winner of a cockfight?
Under Section 4 of PD 449 the referee, the sentenciador, watches the fight, judges the injuries and the cocks' capability to continue, and announces the winner, a tie or a no contest.