JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday linked suspects in the missing “sabungeros” or cockfighting enthusiasts case to the drug war killings of the previous administration.
Remulla told Bilyonaryo News Channel in an interview that this was the initial finding culled from the ongoing investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) into the case.
He said there seems to be an “intersection” in the operations of those involved in the sabungeros case with that of the violent campaign against illegal drugs.
“Meaning to say, they (sabungeros case suspects) were involved in the drug war, they were also involved in the silencing of these people,” the DOJ chief said.
“Yung suspects sa drug war, yung mga pumapatay ng tao, maaring sila rin ang kasama rito na pumapatay din ng mga sabungero (The suspects involved in the drug war, those who kill people, may also be involved in the killing of the cockfighting enthusiasts),” he added.
The justice secretary did not give additional details pending the completion of the DOJ probe.
Citing disclosures made by suspect-turned-whistleblower Julie Patidongan, alias “Totoy,” Remulla on Tuesday described the killing of the sabungeros as akin to a “corporate style killing” that supposedly involved the Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta Groups.
Remulla said that according to Patidongan, the involvement of the groups were “tiered according to the income stream that they all receive out of this e-sabong industry.”
He said the groups purportedly include businessmen and government functionaries, but refused to provide additional details.
Patidongan has tagged gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang as the supposed mastermind who allegedly ordered the abduction and killing of more than 100 sabungeros for supposedly cheating in cockfighting games.
Ang has denied the allegation, even as he confirmed that Patidongan used to be one of his cockfighting farm managers.
DEEPER PROBE
Palace press officer Claire Castro said there should be a deeper investigation into the case following the latest disclosures of Patidongan.
“Kung ganiyan po ang nakikita sa mga imbestigasyon, mas lalo pa po dapat itong palawigin, iyong pag-iimbestiga rito dahil mukhang kone-konektado ang mga nagawang krimen, kung ito man po ay mapapatunayan (There should be a more thorough investigation into this case, especially with the latest disclosures about its possible connection with other criminal activities),” Castro said in a briefing in Malacañang.
She also said: “Hindi po natin sinasabi na sila na po ay guilty pero mas gusto po ng Pangulo, iuutos po talaga niya na dapat mabigyan ng hustisya ang mga nabiktima (We are not saying that they are already guilty. But the President would really want to justice to be given to the victims).”
RETRIEVAL OPERATIONS
Technical divers from the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard are set to start this week exploratory dives on a portion of Taal Lake that Patidongan claimed was one of the locations where the bodies of the sabungeros were dumped after they were killed.
DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano said while finding the remains of the victim is important and would constitute a significant evidence to boost the government’s case against the suspects, conviction can still be attained even without the remains as long as the “fact of death” can be conclusively proven by the prosecution during the trial of the case.
Clavano said the physical retrieval of the remains of the missing sabungeros is not a prerequisite for a murder conviction.
“In Philippine criminal law, it is not absolutely necessary to find the body of the victim to prove the crime of murder. This legal principle is consistent with the doctrine of ‘corpus delicti,’ which refers not to the body of the deceased, but to the fact that a crime has been committed,” Clavano told reporters in a Viber message when asked about the significance of finding the remains of the missing sabungeros.
Remulla has said that they are still waiting for some equipment, including remotely operated vehicles from Japan, to help in the search.
Clavano also addressed what he said is the misconception on what corpus delicti means, which he said does not only refer to the victim’s body.
Corpus delicti, he said, refers to the body or substance of the crime itself.
“It consists of the essential elements that must be proven to establish that a crime was actually committed, regardless of whether a suspect has been identified or arrested,” he explained, adding that “corpus delicti in murder means proving that a person died and that the death was the result of a criminal act.”
He stressed that even without a body, the prosecution can still secure a conviction in court.
“Conviction is still possible without producing the body as long as you prove the fact of death in court. Obviously, presenting the body or remains will be damning evidence of this. Yet, even without presenting the same, there are many other ways to prove the fact of death,” he said.
Clavano said photos or videos of the killing, for example, may also establish the fact of death of an individual.
COPS INVOLVEMENT
Meanwhile, PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III said it will be a welcome development if the 15 policemen linked to the sabungeros case will come clean and spill the beans on the incident.
“Of course, that’s one of the directions that (they) can take,” Torre told reporters in an ambush interview, referring to the policemen who are currently under the restrictive custody of the PNP.
The 15, including a lieutenant colonel, were linked by Patidongan in the abduction and killing of the cockfighters.
“If some of them will volunteer to be state witnesses or decide to tell, then that will be a welcome development in the investigation,” said Torre.
Nevertheless, Torre said “we can still solve this case even without the cooperation of the suspects.”
National Police Commission vice chairman Rafael Vicente Calinisan said they would also welcome if additional whistleblowers will come out in the open.
Calinisan said they have received feelers from possible witnesses but declined to explicitly say if they are policemen.
He said they are hoping more witnesses will come out and help in the ongoing investigation.
“The feelers came from different people, that can be a police officer, that can be a civilian…. We are receiving feelers from different entities,” he said, adding that the potential witnesses seemed to be directly involved in the case.
He remained cautious, though, that “until we get hold their statements, those are just rumors.”
Torre has said that aside from Taal Lake, the PNP has information about other “disposal areas” of the sabungeros’ bodies.
Asked yesterday if they have already visited these areas, he replied in the affirmative, saying: “We visited some. There are other (disposal) areas, not only around Batangas but others in the metro.”
Pressed how many areas they have already visited, Torre just said “several.”
“We will give you a comprehensive report if it (investigation) is already finished,” he said. – With Jocelyn Reyes and Victor Reyes
