Missing sabungeros buried in Taal Lake? Remulla says DOJ will verify claim

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'We will need tactical divers to do it kasi malalim din 'yan. And it's not easy to go into a lake bed to look for human remains,' the justice secretary says

MANILA, Philippines – Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said authorities will verify the information claiming that the missing sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts) were allegedly buried in Taal Lake.

“Puwede yan. Ibe-vet natin, pag-aaralan natin ‘yong sinasabi niya kasi may hawak naman kaming ibang testigo (That could be checked. We will vet, we will check his claim because we also have other witnesses in this case),” the DOJ chief told reporters on Thursday, June 19.

GMA News reported that one of the accused in the missing sabungeros case had came forward and told them that the victims were already dead and buried in Taal Lake.

He said the missing sabungeros were strangled to death. The victims were allegedly those who were caught cheating in the cockpit.

“We will need tactical divers to do it kasi malalim din ‘yan (because that’s really deep). And it’s not easy to go into a lake bed to look for human remains,” Remulla said.

“Kasi walang trace talaga. It can be a credible story kasi wala talaga trace. When you vanish without a trace, then it must be somewhere where people have not been able to look. Baka hindi natitingnan pa ‘yong lugar,” he added.

(They really have no trace at all. It can be a credible story because they vanished without a trace. When you vanish without a trace, then it must be somewhere where people have not been able to look. Maybe that place has yet to be checked.)

Manila’s justice department has been probing the mysterious disappearance of the sabungeros for years now. As of December 2022, a total of 34 sabungeros have gone missing, but only a few cases were filed in relation to their disappearance.

At least six people — Julie Patidongan, Mark Carlo Zabala, Virgilio Bayog, Roberto Matillano Jr., Gleer Codilla, and Johnry Consolacion — are facing serious illegal detention and kidnapping cases for the disappearance of six sabungeros in January 2022. The charges were supposedly non-bailable, but the Manila court allowed the suspects to avail of provisional liberty.

The Court of Appeals (CA), in January this year, invalidated the lower court’s order that allowed the suspects to post bail. The appellate court also denied the alleged assailants’ fresh petition for bail, so the suspects were supposedly ordered rearrested.

However, the suspects appealed the CA decision to the Supreme Court (SC). High Court spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting confirmed to reporters on Thursday that a petition had been filed with the SC challenging the CA ruling. – Rappler.com