‘Sabungeros’ kin backing out of case; prosecutor unfazed

MANILA, Philippines — The departure of majority of the families of missing “sabungeros” (cockfighting enthusiasts) as parties to the kidnapping charges against gaming tycoon Atong Ang and police officers would not weaken the criminal aspect of the case, according to the chief prosecutor.

Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon noted that the reported withdrawal and the waning interest of some families to cooperate in the three cases of kidnapping with homicide and serious illegal detention would affect only the civil aspect, which covers the compensation for damages that they could be entitled to due to the emotional toll caused by the alleged crimes.

“Now, if we’re talking about who would we present in the case because [some witnesses] are no longer [participating] … I would stress the fact that their testimonies are only with respect to the civil case, [which concerns] the damages. Can the case proceed? Yes, because we have the criminal aspect,” Fadullon told reporters on Wednesday.

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READ: Missing sabungeros’ kin deny bribes from Atong Ang camp

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Only five out of 30 families have been left to pursue the case, a family member of one of the missing sabungeros said in an interview with the Inquirer four months ago.

Fadullon noted that the only time that witnesses’ withdrawal or recantation of a testimony would negatively impact the criminal case is when they had personal knowledge of the crime.

“[I]f what they know is based solely on police investigation reports, then we cannot consider that personal knowledge,” he added. “[The case] is not dependent on the absence or presence of the families of the victims because remember, in most cases, the families were not there or were not around when their relatives disappeared.”

Criminal liability

The prosecution is instead more focused for now with proving that the criminal liability of the accused could reach the quantum of evidence required by the court, noted Fadullon.

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He said this as Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors recently presented evidence in the cases in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to oppose the petition for bail of the respondents.

Ang, whose coaccused are police officers and a handful of civilians, is facing multiple charges of kidnapping with homicide and serious illegal detention over the disappearance of sabungeros between 2021 and 2022.

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Citing security concerns and the sensitive nature of the charges, the Supreme Court, through a resolution in February this year, ordered the cases to be transferred to three different branches of the Quezon City courts from its counterpart courts in Lipa City in Batangas as well as in the cities of San Pablo and Sta. Cruz in Laguna, where they were originally filed.

Ang remains at large despite a bounty for his arrest that reached P20 million being offered by authorities.

Falling-out

In May, five families of the sabungeros filed a complaint for obstruction of justice before the DOJ against Caroline Cruz, a lawyer of Ang, over her alleged attempts to pay off witnesses for as much as P40,000 per month.

This, according to Charlene Lasco, a sister of an e-sabong master agent that went missing, supposedly caused a falling out within the victims’ families as others chose to drop themselves from the case and switch sides.

Lasco lamented that only five families are pursuing the case.

Aside from Cruz, three others, who are mothers and spouses of the other missing sabungeros, were also named in the complaint for allegedly being “in connivance” to turn other families to the side of the accused.

“Any other perks they receive, we are not sure. But as of now, what we know is they are getting an allowance,” Lasco said in an interview on May 29.

Cruz, who serves as executive director of Pitmaster Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Ang-owned Lucky 8 Star Quest Inc., had earlier denied the allegations. She, however, admitted to meeting with them and handing out cash merely for humanitarian reasons.

Diane Loyola, wife of one of the missing sabungeros who joined in filing the obstruction of justice charges, said she was one of the relatives supposedly offered money by Cruz in exchange for not attending the hearings and not pursuing the case.

Bones recovered

Between April 2021 and January 2022, at least 34 sabungeros were reported missing in Metro Manila and different parts of Luzon.

In television interviews from June 2025, whistleblower Julie “Totoy” Patidongan—who is also facing kidnapping charges related to the case—alleged that the sabungeros were abducted, strangled to death, and dumped in Taal Lake by a group of policemen supposedly acting on Ang’s orders.

Ang has denied the accusations and has filed several complaints against Patidongan.

Patidongan’s claims prompted a government-led search operation in Taal Lake, with technical divers from the Philippine Coast Guard deployed in July 2025 to recover possible human remains.

Of the 2,000 bones recovered at Taal Lake, 1,400 were confirmed as human remains.

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Patidongan is under the DOJ’s custody as a state witness. —With a report from Inquirer Research