DEPARTMENT of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano said technical divers will begin Thursday afternoon searching the waters off Talisay town in Batangas for the bodies of the missing “sabungeros,” or cockfighting enthusiasts.
Talisay is one of the towns bordering Taal Lake.
Clavano said it took some time for the exploration, initially set for 10 am, to start as authorities from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Philippine National Peace (PNP) and the DOJ had to consider additional information they have just received.
“It took some time to factor that into our plans. It turned out, there was new info that needed to be considered,” Clavano said in a Viber message around mid-day Thursday.
He said the PCG was set to dive, having equipped their personnel with the necessary gears, including diving suits, fins, oxygen tanks, cadaver bags, first aid kits, life rings, rigid hull inflatable boats, and rubber boats.
Earlier, Clavano said Thursday’s activity was only preliminary.
Suspect-turned-whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan alias “Totoy” earlier claimed that the sabungeros, missing since 2021, had been killed and their bodies dumped in Taal Lake.
Patindongan has accused gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang as the alleged mastermind behind the disappearance of the sabungeros, an allegation that Ang has denied.
