Remulla: Drug war killers may also be behind e-sabong disappearances

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 6:22 p.m.) — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said there may be a connection between the perpetrators of the drug war killings and e-sabong.

At a press briefing on Monday, July 14, Remulla suggested a potential “intersection” in the country’s illegal drug trade cases and that of online betting on cockfighting matches.

This comes in light of developments in the case of the 34 missing sabungeros, after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) retrieved five sacks from Taal Lake in recent days — the site where whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan claimed the bodies were dumped.

Remulla cited a case in Meycauayan, Bulacan, where drug suspects arrested were also linked to e-sabong. The arrest took place at a gas station.

“Mayroon kasing ano yan, nagkaroon ng intersection ng mga kaso ito — in an arrest made in Meycauayan, where drug suspects who were arrested were also intertwined with the e-sabong,” he said. 

(There was an intersection of these cases — in an arrest made in Meycauayan, where drug suspects who were arrested were also intertwined with the e-sabong

“Mayroon talagang nagkaroon ng isang incident na napagtagpi namin, napagdikit namin ‘yung dalawang kaso niya,” he added. 

(There was really one incident where we were able to connect the two cases against him.) 

However, he said there were challenges in handling the case, as some personalities tried to influence how the suspects should be treated.

Remulla added that some of the individuals they interrogated later recanted their testimonies — the same ones who had appeared at the Senate probe on e-sabong.

It is still unclear whom Remulla is referring to in the case, if it was a witness or a police officer who attended the Senate probe, and what statement they recanted.

He also raised the possibility that existing “death squads” behind contract killings could be connected to both the bloody war on drugs and e-sabong, with some perpetrators possibly involved in both.

“I think that the death squads might intersect, more on the death squads the people who undertake the contractual killings may intersect somehow with the drug war and the e-sabong,” Remulla said. 

“[M]ay mga taong involved sa pagpatay ng tao sa drug war at sa e-sabong,” he added. 

(There are people involved in the killings in both the drug war and e-sabong.) 

Remulla acknowledged there is still a long way to go in establishing links between the two criminal activities. For now, he said it is important that the government is making progress and that “search teams and the legal group are moving.”

“That’s [as] far as we can trace right now, but we will have [to] establish clearer links to each other,” he said.  

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday that initial findings of the forensic group examining the recovered sacks from Taal Lake were a mix of human and animal remains. 

Remulla said he believes there’s more to the disappearance of the 34 cockfighting enthusiasts who went missing three years ago. “I believe there’s more to this than meets the eye,” he said.

He stressed it’s about time the “demons” behind the case are brought to justice, especially with new findings finally coming to light.

Patidongan accused gaming tycoon Atong Ang of being the mastermind behind the forced disappearances of the missing cockfighting enthusiasts. He also implicated actress Gretchen Barretto. Both have been identified by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as suspects.

The self-proclaimed whistleblower further alleged that Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Chairperson (PCSO) Felix Reyes had rigged cases in Ang’s favor during his time as a judge.

Patidongan also filed a complaint affidavit on Monday against 12 police officers, one of whom was implicated in Duterte's drug war, allegedly involved in the forced disappearance of cockfighting enthusiasts. 

The PCG has been on top of the search operations under the DOJ’s leadership, deploying several teams of nearly 50 divers to search the murky waters of Taal Lake.