What do meron and wala mean in sabong?

They are the two sides of a match. In Tagalog, meron means there is and wala means there is none; at ringside each word stands for one of the two cocks.

Who takes the bets at a licensed cockpit?

The bet taker or promoter. Presidential Decree No. 449 defines the role: he calls and takes care of bets, and after the fight he distributes won bets to the winners after deducting a certain commission.

The referee, called the Sentenciador in the decree. He announces the winner or declares a tie or no contest game.

How much is the plasada?

The decree says only that a certain commission is deducted and fixes no percentage. This page states none.

Can I place a sabong bet online?

No. Online and remote betting on live cockfights is suspended nationwide under Executive Order No. 9, signed on 28 December 2022.

JILICC Sabong Bet: 7 Ringside Terms Explained

In this section
Fact	Value
JILICC DS88 Sabong	DS88 Sabong is the name the JILICC lobby's footer Agent Joining page uses for its SABONG lane, which lists the codes DS88, R88 and 1BET.
JILICC E-Sabong Law	E-sabong is governed by Executive Order No. 9, signed 28 December 2022, which continues its nationwide suspension, and by Presidential Decree No. 449, which governs licensed cockpits.
JILICC and the Missing Sabungeros Case	The missing sabungeros case is the set of disappearances of cockfight enthusiasts in 2021 and 2022 that the Senate investigated.
JILICC Tari Explained	The tari is the gaff or blade tied to a fighting cock's leg in Philippine sabong.

No sabong bet may be placed online in the Philippines: e-sabong is suspended nationwide under Executive Order No. 9, which President Marcos signed on 28 December 2022.

A sabong bet today means a wager placed in person at a licensed cockpit under Presidential Decree No. 449. This page explains its vocabulary only. For the arena rules, read the licensed cockpit under PD 449 first; nothing here shows you how to bet online.

How a sabong bet works at a licensed cockpit

Section 4(f) of the decree defines the bettor: a person who “bets with other bettors or through the bet taker or promoter” and wins or loses depending on the result “as announced by the Referee or Sentenciador”. The bettor may also be the owner of a fighting cock. Section 5(f) bans gambling of any other kind on the premises during cockfights.

So the bet has three parts:

The bettor stakes money or something of value.
The bet taker calls and holds the wagers.
The referee’s announcement settles them.

Seven ringside terms

#	Term	What it means at a licensed cockpit
1	Meron	One of the two sides of a match; Tagalog for “there is”
2	Wala	The other side; Tagalog for “there is none”
3	Kristo	The caller who takes bets from the crowd; a published account says he is so named for his outstretched hands
4	Bet taker	The decree’s term for the promoter who calls and takes care of bets
5	Sentensyador	The referee, whose verdict decides the bet
6	Taga tari	The gaffer who arms the cock; see what a tari is
7	Plasada	The commission deducted from won bets

The Wikipedia article on cockfighting says bets are usually taken by the kristo and names the sentensyador (also called koyme) as the referee whose verdict is final. Its photo caption pairs meron and wala with the llamado and dehado labels. Ask the cockpit’s officials how the calls work that day, because the decree leaves the odds to the bettors and the bet taker.

How the odds are called

Section 4(c) says the bet taker “calls and takes care of bets from owners of both gamecocks and those of other bettors before he orders commencement of the cockfight.” That sentence is the decree’s whole description of calling. Nothing in it sets a price or a ratio.

At ringside the sequence runs like this:

The bet taker calls the bets from the owners and the crowd before the fight starts.
Bettors match their stakes against each other on meron or wala.
The bet taker orders the fight to begin once the bets are called.
The referee watches the fight and announces the result.

How a bet is settled

Settlement follows the referee. The decree says he decides and makes known the winner “or declaring a tie or no contest game”. Section 4(c) then has the bet taker distribute “won bets to the winners after deducting a certain commission”. A tie or a no contest game is likewise the referee’s call, not the bettors’.

Referee’s announcement	Effect in the decree’s text
A winner	Won bets go to the winners, less the commission
A tie	The referee declares it
No contest	The referee declares it

The plasada

The commission in Section 4(c) is the plasada. The decree states no percentage and this page quotes none; the licensed cockpit tells you its own rate before you stake. Section 7 requires the bet taker to hold a licence renewable every year in the birth month, so you can ask to see it.

Point	Source
Commission deducted from won bets	PD 449 Section 4(c)
Percentage	None stated in the decree
Bet taker’s licence	Renewable yearly, Section 7

Why this is not an online guide

The suspension in Section 1 of Executive Order No. 9 names “online/remote or off-cockpit wagering/betting on live cockfighting matches”, wherever the platform sits. Three things stay outside this page:

Opening an account to bet on live cockfights.
Funding or using any online sabong lane.
Any reading of a casino menu as a go-ahead.

If a casino lobby lists a sabong lane, read what DS88 Sabong means under the suspension before you act on it.

JILICC Sabong Bet Terms: Meron, Wala, Kristo and the Commission