THE government, through the Department of Interior and Local Government, is offering a P10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of businessman and gaming magnate Charlie “Atong” Ang it declared as a fugitive from justice.
Ang, previously imprisoned for two years until his release in 2009, is a prominent and controversial Filipino tycoon known for his deep involvement in the cockfighting industry, particularly online cockfighting.
The fugitive declaration followed an arrest warrant for non-bailable charges of kidnapping with homicide and kidnapping with serious illegal detention issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 26 in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.
This makes the 68-year-old Ang the “Number 1 Most Wanted Person” in the country in connection with the missing cockfighting enthusiasts case.
The arrest order came less than a month after the Department of Justice indicted Ang and 21 others on Dec. 19 on 10 counts of kidnapping with homicide and 16 counts of kidnapping with serious illegal detention for the deaths of 10 cockfighting enthusiasts and the disappearance of 16 others.
In 2025, Ang was accused by a former security aide of perpetrating the disappearance of more than 100 cockfighting enthusiasts from 2021 to 2022, allegations Ang denied.
What boggles the mind is why intelligence agents had not been assigned to monitor his frame, even after he pleaded guilty to a charge of indirect bribery in 2007 and served two years in prison before being released in May 2009.
The Department of Justice has classified Ang as a fugitive from justice because he failed to surrender after the charges were filed and the warrant was issued.
The Supreme Court has defined a fugitive from justice as one who not only flees after conviction to avoid punishment, but also includes those who, after being charged, flee to avoid prosecution.
Police authorities have also mobilized tracker teams and tried to serve the warrant at several of Ang’s known addresses, where he was not found.
The PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has also requested that Interpol issue a red notice to help police in his arrest although recent monitoring by them suggests Ang is still in the country.
Some ask, if Ang has been monitored to be still in the country, what’s causing the delay in his arrest?
Many will be watching how this crime will be solved, given Ang’s wealth and how the government, through the law enforcement arm and the judiciary, will move the wheel of justice for the families of those who disappeared from the ring.
