The Department of Justice (DOJ) through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Charlie Guhit on Tuesday confirmed that the panel of prosecutors have submitted for resolution the complaints against those implicated in the case of missing sabungeros.
“As a matter of fact, the panel declared that the preliminary investigation is already submitted for resolution after the complainant manifested that they are not filing a reply or counter-affidavit to the respondents,” Guhit told justice reporters.
Out of the 62 respondents, 57 filed counter-affidavits, including the alleged mastermind in the case Charlie ‘Atong’ Ang, his relatives, and celebrity Gretchen Barretto.
Among the charges in the complaints include murder and serious illegal detention.
While there is no specific timeline yet, Guhit vowed that the panel will resolve the case as soon as possible after reviewing the attached documents in the counter-affidavits filed by the respondents.
For his part, lawyer Manuel Ventura—the legal counsel for primary whistleblower Julie ‘Dondon’ Patidongan and his brothers—said they believe in the integrity, probity and uprightness of the panel of prosecutors to uphold the rule of law.
The Patidongan brothers also submitted their sworn statements.
The camp of gaming tycoon Ang expressed confidence that the case will be remanded back to the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
“The evidence submitted do not have enough credibility to establish what is called the quantum of evidence for prima facie case to have a probable outcome of a guilty verdict,” Ang’s lawyer Gabriel Villareal explained.
The Mandaluyong City prosecutor’s office on Monday dismissed the complaints filed by Ang against Patidongan for lack of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction.
Meanwhile, the DOJ also said the search for the possible remains of the victims in Taal Lake is still ongoing.
In a press briefing, DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said a total of 60 operations were conducted from July until this month.
“Out of 35 [fishnets or sacks containing different remains, both human and unidentified] recoveries, 981 total number of bones were discovered and collected within the period of July 10 to October 12… Out of the 981 total bones collected, 887 pertained to human bones, which also includes three sets of human remains consisting of 264 bones. The rest are unidentified,” he said.
Martinez added that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is still searching for remains although the diving is no longer done on a daily basis. He said there is still no DNA match on the remains but noted that the case can still proceed even without DNA results.
“It may add to whatever evidence we have now but if the assessment by the panel of prosecutors is that there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, given what we have on hand, there will be no need to look into the DNA evidence or to wait for the results of the DNA examination,” Martinez said.
