6 hours ago
1
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Since 2021, there have been 34 sabungeros (cockfight enthusiasts) recorded missing by Philippine authorities.
The Senate committee on public order held a series of hearings to investigate e-sabong and the alarming case of missing sabungeros. Charges for kidnapping and serious illegal detention were filed in at least two cases — the abduction of e-sabong master agent Ricardo Lasco Jr. and the disappearance of six sabungeros from Rizal.
For a while, no one knew about the fate of these missing sabungeros, except that they were victims of forced disappearances.
Things changed when one of the accused in the missing sabungeros case — Julie “Dondon” Patidongan — disclosed what he supposedly knows about the case.
Buried in Taal Lake?
In a series of revelations, Patidongan claimed that the missing sabungeros are already dead.
“Paano mabubuhay ‘yan eh nakabaon na ‘yan do’n sa Taal Lake. Lahat ‘yan. Kung huhukayin ‘yon, mga buto-buto, paano natin makilala ang mga ‘yon? ‘Di lang missing sabungero ang mga ‘yon, may iba pang tinatapon do’n, pati drug lord,” the accused told GMA News in an interview.
(How can they still be alive if they were buried in Taal Lake? All of them. If we will unearth them, the bones, how can they be identified? The remains are not only of those missing sabungeros, there are other remains there, including those of drug lords.)
According to Patidongan, the sabungeros who were caught cheating in the games were abducted, rounded up, and then were turned over to another group of people. They were kidnapped while they were tied with plastic and transported in a van.
The sabungeros, according to the accused, were “killed softly” and strangled using a tie wire. He also claimed that the number of killed sabungeros could reach up to a hundred, and not just 34.
Patidongan later tagged his former boss, businessman and gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang as the alleged mastermind in the missing sabungeros case. Ang denied the allegations and filed multiple criminal complaints against Patidongan, including slander and robbery, claiming that the accused allegedly tried to extort money from him.
The accused also tagged actress Gretchen Barretto in the case, who also denied the allegations. Ang and Barretto were business partners, but Gretchen’s sister, Marjorie, claimed in 2019 that the two were actually together.
As early as 2022, Ang was already implicated in the missing sabungeros case since he owns the Lucky 8 Star Quest, the operator of cockfighting arenas where some of the missing sabungeros were last seen. He attended the Senate hearings and denied all the allegations hurled at him, including the accusation that he could get rid of a cheating sabungero for only P5,000.
What’s the plan?
It was Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla who first floated the idea of tapping experts to dive into Taal Lake.
On June 19, Remulla said authorities will vet the information about the sabungeros being already dead and buried in the lake. The DOJ chief said authorities will need technical divers for the mission.
“We will need tactical divers to do it kasi malalim din ‘yan (because that’s really deep). And it’s not easy to go into a lake bed to look for human remains,” Remulla said. “Kasi walang trace talaga. It can be a credible story kasi wala talaga trace. When you vanish without a trace, then it must be somewhere where people have not been able to look. Baka hindi natitingnan pa ‘yong lugar.”
(They really have no trace at all. It can be a credible story because they vanished without a trace. When you vanish without a trace, then it must be somewhere where people have not been able to look. Maybe that place has yet to be checked.)
Who will help in the search?
Remulla said the Philippine government had asked the Japanese government, through its Manila embassy, for help in the search.
The DOJ chief said they were ironing out some details in the request, since the Japanese government wanted to determine what kind of equipment would be needed in the lake search. He added that the Philippine government’s request included mapping of the lakebed.
“Because usually, the ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) are used for seabeds. But this is a lakebed. It’s a different story. It’s a different type of buoyancy…And it’s a different terrain,” Remulla said in a mix of Filipino and English during a press conference on July 8.
Apart from the Japanese government, the DOJ will also work with the Philippine Navy (PN) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for the search.
“Thankfully, the Coast Guard [and] Navy are there, [they] have volunteered and are just waiting for things to unravel so that they can conduct the technical dives,” Remulla said. “Because if you say technical dives…This is not a leisure dive, this is a very specific undertaking of experts. This is not like simple diving into a river then you will check the riverbed. This is not that simple.”
On July 8, Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said underwater drones could be deployed first in the lake before the divers to first check on safety.
Remulla also said on Tuesday that they will tap the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau since it has “ground-penetrating sonar” equipment.
When will the search begin?
On Wednesday, July 9, DOJ spokesperson Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said the initial dive will be done on Thursday, July 10.
Earlier, Remulla said the Philippine government has “good leads” on where and how to look for the remains. On July 7, the justice secretary said the initial search will include technical dives and bed mapping in Taal Lake.
Remulla said the searches may begin in fishponds linked to the people being investigated by authorities. He added that one of the suspects actually owns a fishpond, so that could be ground zero of the search.
According to the DOJ chief, the owner of the fishpond is allegedly involved in the “subcontracting of the disposition of people to be killed.” He said some of the victims who were brought to the place were still alive and then killed there later on.
“It’s a very ghastly scene that we can imagine. Some people are being targeted for execution and they’re being turned over to some people…These are contractors who did it,” Remulla explained. – Rappler.com
