Who is the kristo at a sabong?

The kristo is the colloquial name for the bet taker or promoter, the person who calls and takes care of bets before a bout begins. PD 449 Section 4(c) uses the terms bet taker or promoter.

What do the kristo's hand signals mean?

They tell the pit which bird a bettor backs and the size of the stake, so a bet can be matched across a noisy crowd. Each pit has its own conventions.

Does a kristo need a licence?

Yes. PD 449 Section 7 says bet takers or promoters may not act without a licence from the city or municipality, renewable every year on their birth month.

Is a kristo legal in online sabong?

No such role exists in a lawful online setting. E-sabong has been suspended nationwide since 2022, and EO 9 Section 1(b) suspends online or remote wagering on live cockfights.

JILIWIN Kristo Sabong: Learn Who Calls the Bets

In this section
Fact	Value
JILIWIN 5 Cock Derby Format and Permits	A 5 cock derby is a cockfighting derby in which each entry fields five birds, and the entry with the best record across the bouts wins.
JILIWIN Dejado Meaning at a Cockpit	Dejado is the cockpit term for the bird expected to lose, the underdog set against the llamado, the favorite.
JILIWIN Gaff Cockfighting and the Gaffer's Role	In gaff cockfighting, the gaff is the blade fitted to a gamecock's leg and the gaffer, called taga tari in Filipino, is the person who fits it.
JILIWIN Rooster Fight Rules Under PD 449	A rooster fight is lawful in the Philippines only in a licensed cockpit, on Sundays, legal holidays and local fiestas of up to three days under PD 449.

E-sabong operations have been suspended since 2022, and Executive Order No. 9, signed on 28 December 2022 by President Marcos Jr., continues that suspension nationwide. The kristo works only in a licensed pit, and the decree behind that setting is summarized in the page on cockfighting legal rules. This page covers who the kristo is, how the signals read and what the licence demands.

Kristo sabong: who the kristo is

At a sabong, the kristo is the person who runs the betting in the pit. The word is floor slang, usually explained as coming from “Cristo” and the way the arms spread to signal across the crowd. The decree never uses it, and calls the same person the bet taker or promoter.

Section 4(c) of PD 449 defines that person as someone who calls and takes care of bets from owners of both gamecocks and other bettors before ordering the fight to begin, then distributes won bets to the winners after deducting a commission. That one sentence covers three jobs:

Calling the sides before the bout.
Matching bets between owners and bettors.
Paying the winners after the commission.

What the hand signals stand for

The pit is loud, so the kristo and the bettors talk with their hands. Pits differ in their details, so the table gives the kinds of message rather than a fixed code.

Signal type	What it communicates	Who reads it
Pointing to a side	The bird a bettor backs, llamado or dejado	The kristo
Raised fingers or a held-up hand	The size of the stake	The kristo and the opposing bettor
A call back across the pit	A matching bet is taken	The bettor
Closing gesture	The bet is set and no more are taken for the bout	The pit

To read a particular pit, sit beside a regular and watch one derby from the stands. The signals repeat every bout.

The kristo and the sides: llamado and dejado

The kristo’s call names the two sides, and the price attached to each. The favorite and the underdog have their own words, set out in dejado and llamado. A worked example, labelled as invented, shows the call at 10 to 8 llamado:

Bettor points to	Stakes	Wins
Llamado	10 pesos	8 pesos
Dejado	8 pesos	10 pesos

The kristo’s licence, step by step

PD 449 Section 7 sets the licence rule for bet takers and promoters, in the same sentence as gaffers and referees:

Apply to the city or municipality where the cockfight is held.
Renew the licence every year, on the birth month.
Pay the city or municipal tax, which may be not more than twenty pesos.
Officiate only in cockfighting authorized in the decree.

GAB’s mandate page adds that it accredits cockpit officiating personnel for international derbies, which the 5 cock derby page describes in more detail.

Penalties and limits on the bet taker

A bet taker sits in the higher penalty band of Section 8 with the cockpit’s financer, owner, manager and operator, the gaffer and the referee. Four points define the limits:

The penalty is prision correccional in its maximum period and a fine of 2,000 pesos.
Section 5(f) bars any other gambling on the premises during cockfights.
A commission is allowed, since Section 4(c) mentions deducting a certain commission.
Section 3(c) states the policy of removing and preventing excessive and unreasonable business operation and profit considerations in the management of cockpits.

Where the kristo does and does not work

The kristo works in a licensed cockpit on days the decree allows, which the rules for a rooster fight lay out. A bet taker’s role is tied to the pit, and EO 9 splits the picture in two:

Licensed traditional cockfighting stays outside the suspension.
Online wagering on live fights is suspended, wherever the platform sits.

To check whether a pit and its bet takers are licensed, ask the city or municipal hall, and read PD 449 and EO 9 at lawphil.net. You must be 21 or older to take part in games of chance.

JILIWIN Kristo Sabong and the Hand Signals