A big problem in the Philippines is still not solved. Many sabungeros (people who join or watch cockfighting games) suddenly disappeared, and their families are still looking for answers. Now, a man named Julie “Dondon” Patidongan says that 12 active police officers might be part of the group that made the sabungeros disappear.
But Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who used to be the boss of all policemen in the country, is not just going to believe that right away. On Thursday, he said, “If Patidongan really knows something, he should tell us who these policemen are and show us the evidence.”
Senator Bato explained that it’s not just about getting justice for the missing sabungeros or for Patidongan himself. It’s also about being fair to the policemen being accused. If there is no proof, people might be blaming the wrong ones.
Patidongan recently gave a written complaint to a group called NAPOLCOM—that’s the office that checks if police officers are doing their jobs right. He said the 12 active cops helped in taking the sabungeros from farms and bringing them to Taal Lake. He even said that about 30 retired cops were also part of the plan.
Atty. Rafael Vicente Calinisan from NAPOLCOM said that if the 12 cops really did those things, they could be punished for being very unprofessional and breaking the law.
Senator Bato, who led an earlier investigation about this case in 2022, said he wonders why Patidongan is only talking now. He thinks maybe Patidongan feels very guilty or is being haunted in his sleep by the memory of the 36 missing people. Senator Bato said, “Maybe he just can’t sleep at night anymore, and now he wants to tell the truth.”
Even though this is big news again, Senator Bato said he won’t open a new investigation in the Senate unless someone else requests it. But if that happens and the case is sent to his group, then he will look into it again.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said there might be a connection between people involved in the drug war killings and the e-sabong disappearances during the pandemic.
In the search for the missing sabungeros, police said that bones found in Taal Lake were confirmed to be human remains.
Lastly, Patidongan accused businessman Atong Ang of being the mastermind and even mentioned actress Gretchen Barretto. But both of them said those accusations are not true.
