The Princess of the cockpit
Firebird Game Farm is home to Mr. Leandro "Biboy" Enriquez' famous game birds. It is a vast 20 - hectare property situated in the mountain-ous province of Tanay, Rizal in the Philippines. It is home to one of the more respected chicken stables in the country as its owner belongs to the highest echelon of Filipino cockers and breeders.
Barugo is a town in the northern coastal part of Leyte facing Carigara Bay, 50 kilometers northwest of Tacloban City, whose history dates back to the early days of Spanish occupation.
What do these places, obviously far detached from each other, have in common? Well, a 23 year-old lass who hails from Barugo and works with Firebird Game Farm. Unlikely? Maybe. But such is the case.
Yes, it seems farfetched for Robie Yu Panis, to end up working at a game farm. With her looks, Robie would have blended better with the fineries which define the fashion world than the chaotic order that prevails in the cockpits. And, far more unimaginable is the fact that her job includes her actually tying the deadly tari’ Right, Robie is a lady mananari.
However Robie took up the challenge that many men in the sabong world feared to dare. She indeed ties the knife.
What made her do it? Here’s what she said: Challenging. Yes, super! Knowing that I'm in the world of ''Barakos'' hehe... Parang I'm their Princess. haha..., Robie declared.
Yun nga lang medyo tense to the highest level … talaga pag manok mo at ikaw ang nagtari. Parang every time na pumapalo sya, parang ako din ang pumapalo. Iba ang tension ko noon compared ngaun na ako na mismo ang naglalagay ng knife, she quickly added. Aside from being Firebird’s mananari, Robie, who now resides in Marikina City also acts as farm assistant of Mr. Enriquez. She, in addition, takes care of purchasing and answers inquiries.
When asked by Roosterman how she finds the whole job, she admitted: To be honest mahirap talaga, pero enjoy naman. No dull moments. Exciting? Super! as I said in one of my posts in Face-book, Watching my rooster fight in the pit is like watching Cong. Manny Pacquiao box in the ring..
But maybe, more than all else, what she enjoys most on the job are the memorable moments she experiences from time to time.
Most memorable experiences she enumerated to Roosterman were the following:
Oh my! sobrang madami po.(memorable experiences) First nung ma feature kami ng Discovery Channel, sobrang flattered talaga kami at International TV show pa yung nag featured sa amin.
Second; Kung saan2x kami nakakarating especially ako because of ''Sabong'' Third; Marami akong nakikilalang tao na mga Big Time at tinitingala sa lipunan. Madalas ko ma encounter o makausap pa sa Cockpit man o sa Farm.
Lastly ang sarap ng feeling na marami ang humahanga at nagbibigay ng support sayo. Yun nga lang mas lumiit ang mundong ginagalawan ko, konting post ko lang madami ang nag re-react. hehe....
As to her favorite bloodlines at Firebird, Robie stated: my Favorite Bloodlines are the Firebird Kelsos and sweaters. Why? it's simply because they're excellent cutters, high station and athletic.
As an excellent gaffer herself we can say she knows what she is talking about when it comes to chickens’ cutting ability.
Her presence in the competitive world of sabong might happen to be bad news for many men who may encounter the bad luck of having to face her birds at the pit. But a piece of good news is that she is still single.
Early during the Spanish rule, Barugo was given the status of a pueblo (town) when it was established as an "encomienda." An encomienda was a land estate ward-ed to deserving Spaniards for services rendered to the Spanish Crown. The grantee of an encomienda, known as encomiendero, was given the right to rule the encomienda in accordance with the Spanish laws and to ex-tract tributes from the natives, part of which went to the Spanish Crown. Barugo became an encomienda only ten months after Cebu and Manila.
Firebird Game Farm, on the other hand, has, for years, been in the cocking map. The farm has been a subject of admiration not only by local aficionados but international cockers as well. Known American breeders from Alabama, Oklahoma, Louisiana and California have nice words to say whenever they visit the farm. Barugo and Firebird both made their marks on their own respective rights. Now, the two entirely different worlds share a wonder—a lady gaffer par excellence.
(Roosterman Int’l would like to thank Mr. Rey Bajenting for taking some time despite his tight schedule to undertake additional research and write this feature. This was published on Roosterman No. 11; Dec. 2011)
