The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) delivered the equipment to be used in the search for the vanished cockfighting enthusiasts collectively known as the ‘missing sabungeros’ in Talisay, Batangas early Thursday morning.
The assets were unloaded at a Coast Guard substation around 2 a.m. and then transported to a nearby fish port, which will serve as the staging area for the operation.
Among the equipment to be used in the search are diving suits and fins, oxygen tanks, cadaver bags, first aid kits, life rings, rigid hull inflatable boats, and rubber boats.
The commencement of the search will depend on weather conditions and water currents.
Meanwhile, Navy Inspector General Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad explained that there are several methods to search for and recover targets underwater. One of the most effective tools they can use is an underwater drone or remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
Trinidad said these drones help assess the underwater environment, checking for safety, water conditions, and identifying potential obstacles or hazards beneath the surface.
“There are numerous ways on how to recover or how to look for targets underwater itself. We could send underwater drones to check on the safety, how the water is underneath… The moment we find what we have to recover — object or cadaver,” he told reporters.
According to authorities, the deepest part of Taal Lake reaches approximately 198 meters—comparable to the height of a 60-storey building.
Officials from the Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police -Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), and PCG are expected to arrive in the area.
A meeting among the officials is scheduled prior to the start of the search operation.
Among the potential challenges facing the search team are unfavorable weather, strong water currents, and the ongoing low-level unrest of Taal Volcano.
Taal Volcano is currently under Alert Level 1, indicating an abnormal condition. This alert level does not mean that volcanic unrest has stopped or that the threat of eruptive activity has been eliminated.
Under Alert Level 1, possible hazards include sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and the dangerous buildup or release of volcanic gases.
A total of 34 cockfighting enthusiasts were reported missing between 2021 and 2022. According to police investigations, the disappearances are allegedly linked to cases of kidnapping connected to match-fixing or cheating in cockfighting games.
