The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday, December 22, that criminal cases have been filed against businessman Atong Ang and several co-accused over the disappearance of “sabungeros,” or cockfight enthusiasts.
According to DOJ spokesperson Raphael Niccolo Martinez, a total of 26 cases were lodged on December 19 before Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) in Lipa City, Batangas, and in Sta. Cruz and San Pablo City, Laguna. These include 10 counts of kidnapping with homicide and 16 counts of kidnapping with serious illegal detention.
Ang is facing the kidnapping with homicide charges alongside 21 co-accused, including several active and former police officers. He is also charged with kidnapping with serious illegal detention together with seven other respondents. It remains unclear whether the cases will later be consolidated or transferred to a single court in Manila.
Martinez said that “under the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, the courts wherein the Informations are filed will issue the corresponding warrants of arrest upon its determination of the existence of probable cause based on the evidence submitted and the resolution by the panel of prosecutors.”
The charges stemmed from a preliminary investigation in which prosecutors found prima facie evidence, with reasonable certainty of conviction, to proceed against Ang and his co-respondents.
Meanwhile, the DOJ panel dismissed the complaints against several respondents, including actress Gretchen Barretto and whistleblower Julie Aguilar Patidongan and his brother Ellakim Tadulan Patidongan.
The resolution stated that the cases against the Patidongan brothers were dropped after they were admitted as state witnesses.