Businessman Atong Ang has welcomed the formal filing of charges against him in connection with the “missing sabungeros” case, saying he is prepared to face the accusations in the proper legal venue.
In a statement issued Sunday, August 3, through his lawyer Gabriel Villareal, Ang strongly denied any wrongdoing and cast doubt on the testimony of self-proclaimed whistleblower Julie Patidongan, calling it “flawed, self-serving, and unsubstantiated.”
“It is from that strategic vantage point that Patidongan was able to upscale from a robbery syndicate to operating his criminal network of illegal gambling, kidnapping, extortion and intimidation, using, without the knowledge of his superiors, the resources and network available to him,” Ang’s statement read.
According to Ang, Patidongan fabricated his account to escape accountability after being implicated in the disappearance of a cockfighting competitor in Manila late last year.
“Finding himself under threat of exposure when he was himself tagged in the disappearance… he would now point to his superiors as masterminds in an incredulous story he has concocted to avoid the consequences of his criminal designs,” he added.
Ang further claimed that the public is being misled by a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” portraying Patidongan as a “master manipulator” who embedded himself among the victims of the very tragedy he allegedly orchestrated.
“Patidongan’s story is a fabrication; he must be exposed as he will soon be,” the statement read.
On Saturday, August 1, families of the missing cockfight enthusiasts filed multiple counts of murder and serious illegal detention against Ang and several associates.