Relatives of “missing sabungeros” filed complaints of murder and serious illegal detention yesterday against Charlie “Atong” Ang at the Department of Justice.
“Of course, we are happy [to finally file the complaints] because we have waited four years for this,” Ryan Bautista, brother of missing sabungero Michael Bautista, told reporters in Filipino.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla confirmed the filing of the complaints against Ang and assured them they would undergo evaluation.
“He is the main player; he is Totoy’s [Patidongan] boss. It is really important that this [case] be tried in court,” the DOJ chief said.
Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon told justice reporters that “during the evaluation, it is only the party that is filing the complaint whose evidence is presented to us that will be considered.”
“If it is enough, then it can be referred for preliminary investigation, and the other parties will be informed so they can also answer,” he added.
Fadullon explained that they cannot disclose any information yet since they are still in an evaluation stage, noting, “It is as if no case yet has been filed for preliminary investigation.”
However, prosecutors are already in the process of evaluating the complaints to determine if there is sufficient evidence to move forward, he assured.
While he confirmed that the statements of relatives are already included, he noted that they have yet to review whether it also includes the narratives of e-sabong whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan.
Remulla meanwhile called out the Philippine National Police (PNP) for claiming that no DNA profiles can be obtained from the bones found in Taal Lake, describing it as “premature.”
He underscored that the PNP will no longer talk about DNA testing of the remains recovered from the lake.
On Tuesday, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) divers retrieved a human skull from the lake amid the search and retrieval operations.
The skull is only the latest among several human bones fished out of the sprawling lake since search efforts began last month, bolstering Patidongan’s claim that murdered people were indeed dumped there.
