Missing sabungeros: 2,000 bones retrieved from Taal Lake – PNP

MANILA, Philippines — Over 2,000 human bones have been recovered from Taal Lake in Batangas in connection with the investigation on the case of missing sabungeros or cockfight aficionados, the Philippine National Police said yesterday. PNP Forensic Group director Col. Pierre Paul Carpio said DNA samples extracted from the bones are undergoing cross-matching with the missing sabungeros.

Carpio did not disclose if authorities have identified any of the remains.

Julie Patidongan has tagged fugitive gambling tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang as the brains in the kidnapping and murder of sabungeros who allegedly cheated in cockfight games.

Patidongan has said the victims were buried in Taal Lake.

Ang went into hiding after courts in Laguna and Batangas issued warrants for his arrest.

The PNP has vowed protection for the families of the sabungeros amid reports that some of the victims’ kin are being paid P40,000 per month by Ang’s camp in exchange for not pursuing the cases filed against him.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police assistance does not end with case building and filing of charges in court.

“It expands to ensuring that no mockery of the justice system will happen during the course of the legal process,” Nartatez said.