The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said they still have no information that gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang left the country.
Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez made this remark amid a claim from a whistleblower that Ang may already be out of the country as early as December last year.
“The recent news circulating that Atong Ang has left the country has not yet been verified. We have not received any information that Atong Ang has exited the Philippines,” Martinez said.
“The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed that he has no recent travel record,” he added.
Martinez underscored that if it will be proven that there are individuals behind the hiding of Ang, the DOJ will run after them as it constitutes obstruction of justice under P.D. 1829.
Last week, the courts issued warrants of arrest against Ang and several others in relation to the case of missing sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts).
Whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan said Ang will not submit to authorities.
On Thursday, lawyer Gabriel Villareal—the lead counsel of Ang—said last week that he will temporarily make himself unavailable for media interviews, so as not to jeopardize his client’s legal remedies that his lawyers will be pursuing on his behalf.
“So as not to jeopardize all legal remedies that we, Mr. Ang’s lawyers, would exhaust in the coming days for his benefit, I would rather limit my pronouncements to those contained in the media releases that we will be issuing regularly from here on,” he said.
“I will make myself available to our friends from the media as soon as we know that our client’s needs have been addressed. Our undivided time should be focused on protecting his interests at this point,” Villareal explained.
He maintained that the issuance of an arrest order violates his client’s rights, noting that the DOJ transmitted incomplete information, which was used by the court in its determination of probable cause.
