POLICE chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III yesterday said the suspect-turned-witness in the disappearance of “sabungeros” or cockfighting enthusiasts is now under the protective custody of the PNP.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Torre said Julie Patidongan, alias Totoy, will be under their care pending his application for inclusion under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).
“As to Totoy, he is under our protective custody as of now. But he is already applying for the Witness Protection Program because if he qualifies, we are going to turn him over to the DOJ (Department of Justice). The final say is with the SOJ (Secretary of Justice),” he said.
Patidongan is one of the accused in the case who has admitted involvement in the abduction and subsequent killing of the sabungeros.
In his affidavit, Patidongan has implicated over 20 police personnel who were supposedly involved in the case, detailed the manner of the killings of the victims, disclosed the locations where the remains were disposed of, and named the alleged masterminds.
He has tagged gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang as the alleged mastermind in the disappearance and killing of the sabungeros, an allegation that Ang has denied.
The suspect-turned whistleblower has also linked actress Gretchen Barreto, who has likewise denied knowledge or involvement in the case.
Ang has confirmed that Patidongan used to work as his farm manager who oversaw his farm’s general maintenance and daily operations, and also supervised security and manpower deployment.
Torre said Patidongan has been providing information to the PNP on the missing sabungeros case since he was still the director of the Criminal Investigation Group, the last post he held before taking over as PNP chief last June 2.
“Totoy has actually been giving us information long ago. It was actually us who took his statement months ago,” he said, adding that the PNP kept this “under wraps” so as not to preempt their next move.
He said the PNP was able to gather “voluminous evidence” because they gathered information “under the radar.”
“We conducted follow-up (investigation) to ensure we have a solid case. As of now, all information were submitted to the DOJ for their preliminary investigation. We’re just waiting for its result,” Torre said.
He said that the witness has disclosed that
the bodies of the missing sabungeros were burned and dumped at Taal Lake and other “disposal areas.”
“Aside from Taal Lake, there are other areas which were identified by witnesses where the bodies of the missing sabungeros were possibly disposed,” he said, adding that the police is in the process of validating the information.
TAAL LAKE SEARCH
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the search for the remains of the sabungeros will start this week, with technical divers checking Taal Lake where the bodies were supposedly dumped.
“We are asking them to start this week. We want to map it out and look at the condition so we can plan how to go about it,” he told reporters in a chance interview Monday afternoon.
He said the DOJ is still waiting for the response of the Japanese government for their request for technical assistance, including the provision of remotely operated vehicles, to search the lake bed for the remains.
“We just wrote the letter last week. So, we expect a reply anytime this week,” he said.
Asked for a particular place in the lake where the technical divers will initially focus their search, Remulla said authorities have set their eye on a fishpond leased by one of the six suspects.
“That place will be our ground zero for the search,” he said.
Remulla said there may also possibly be other sites where the remains of the victims were buried “but we think that the clues that we got regarding the site may be accurate in many ways.”
Remulla acknowledged that the search will be challenging because of the layers of sediments caused by Taal Volcano’s eruption in the past.
“There will be murkiness in the waters because of the weather. But that being the case, it doesn’t stop us from looking into the lake as the resting place of many of those missing sabungeros,” he said.
RESTRICTIVE CUSTODY
Torre said 15 policemen, including a lieutenant colonel, are now under restrictive custody of the police force as part of the ongoing PNP investigation.
“They are in Camp Crame,” he said, referring to the 15 policemen who were previously assigned with various PNP units.
He said the PNP has partnered with the National Police Commission (Napolcom) for the conduct of an in-depth investigation “to ensure transparency and impartiality and to ensure that really, the ends of justice will be achieved.”
Torre said the 15 were implicated by Patidongan, who has said that around 100 sabungeros have been abducted and killed, not just the 34 cockfighting enthusiasts who were documented by authorities to have been adducted in 2021 and 2022.
He said they are looking into the involvement of other policemen in the case, noting that Patidongan has said that around 20 policemen were involved in the abduction and killing of the sabungeros.
Ask about the whereabouts of the five others given that only 15 policemen are under the PNP restrictive custody, Torre said: “As I said earlier, we’re not stopping at 15.”
“There are other personalities who were identified… We also have information where they are, we’re looking into these,” he said, adding that “if there is a need to place them under surveillance, pending the issuance of warrant of arrest, we will do it so that if the warrant of arrest is issued, we’re just going to arrest them.”
As to the specific involvement of the 15 policemen, Torre said: “That is subject of the investigation, both administrative and criminal investigation.”
He said the number of policemen involved in the case may increase as the investigation continues.
Torre said the preliminary investigation on the criminal aspect of the case is led by the DOJ, while the PNP “is just one of the information providers.”
“We will leave no stones unturned,” he vowed, adding that, “even if this (number of involved policemen) increases, the most important thing is we will deliver justice to the victims and secondly, cleanse the (PNP) organization of such kind of personnel.”
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago said the agency is ready to lend its technical expertise, including the conduct of DNA analysis, to help resolve the case of the missing sabungeros or cockfight enthusiasts.
“We have forensic capabilities like masisid at makuha ang mga bangkay (to search and find the victims’ remains). Kung kailangan nila ng forensic expertise naming (If they need our forensic expertise), I am very willing to extend our forensic expertise and capabilities,” Santiago told reporters in a chance interview.
“We are also good at DNA analysis,” he added.
Santiago said the NBI can also conduct lie detector or polygraph tests to help determine the veracity of the revelation of witnesses regarding the disappearance and supposed killings of the victims.
“Yung mga lumulutang, yung mga nagsasalita pwede naming i-subject sila sa lie detector test para once and for all malinawan ito (We can subject those who have come out and testified to a lie detector test so that once and for all, this case will be resolved),” he said.
The result of a lie detector test is however not admitted in court proceedings.
ADDITIONAL WITNESSES
Remulla said they are expecting new witnesses to come out in the case, aside from Patidongan.
“Meron pang iba and some people are coming out. Mukhang mayroon tayong makukuha pa na mga bagong testigo within the week (Other witnesses are coming out. I think we will have a new witness within the week),” he said without giving more details.
He said authorities will thoroughly review any testimonies the prospective witnesses will disclose to ensure that it will withstand scrutiny.
“We will see how they will react to any questioning,” he added.
MEETING WITH SC CHIEF
Remulla said he had “exchanged words already” with Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo about the sabungero case, particularly on the DOJ’s concern about the possible influence of the mastermind or masterminds in the case reaching the judiciary.
“We had the initial contact this morning,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court is already investigating a retired judge whom Patidongan claimed is working for Ang to get his cases dismissed. He did not identify the retired judge.
