Jonvic: Atong Ang has left Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Fugitive gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang has already left the country and was last seen in Cambodia, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies are hunting Ang, who was tagged as the mastermind in the kidnapping and killing of cockfight afficionados or sabungeros.

Ang has warrants of arrest in courts in Batangas and Laguna for kidnapping, serious illegal detention and homicide charges.

“We are confident that he is in that area,” Remulla said on ANC yesterday when asked to confirm if he is in Cambodia.

Remulla did not discuss how Ang managed to slip out of the country despite his being the subject of a massive manhunt.

According to Remulla, Ang has $3 billion that he may have converted into cryptocurrency.

“With that kind of money, you can pay people,” Remulla said.

In the same interview, Remulla said the government knows the whereabouts of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa but is cautious about launching an operation to arrest him by force, as such could end up in a bloodbath similar to the 2017 siege of Marawi City.

Dela Rosa, according to Remulla, is not in Davao City but in another area in Mindanao, secluded and heavily protected by what he described as a powerful armed group.

He refused to identify the protectors of Dela Rosa, who has a warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in connection with former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

“They have a lot of armed men. They are a powerful group that we have to negotiate,” Remulla said.