THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will use a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to help in the continuing search for the remains of “sabungeros” or cockfighting enthusiasts who were reportedly killed and dumped in Taal Lake.
PCG spokesperson Captain Noemie Cayabyab said the ROV, which is assigned with a Coast Guard vessel, is due to arrive at the Taal Lake today.
“Our ROV will have a big role because it has a capability to operate up to 1,000 feet underwater. This means observation of the area will be wider,” Cayabyab said.
Asked why it was only today that the ROV will be arriving at the site, Cayabyab said the PCG vessel and the equipment were earlier tasked to perform another mission.
“It was only now when it (ROV and the vessel) returned to the port so it is only now when we can utilize the ROV (for the operation at Taal Lake),” she said.
The PCG, under the supervision of the Department of Justice, began the diving operations last Friday. On Thursday, it began its pre-dive operations.
The PCG has so far recovered five sacks containing what appeared to be bones.
Cayabyab said two of the sacks were retrieved last Saturday. They were tied to items that were meant to keep them and their contents to remain underwater.
Cayabyab said the ROV is capable of clamping and pulling up objects or items weighing up to 12 kilos.
“It can provide a big help because it has the capacity to see underwater up to 1,000 feet. If it sees objects (underwater), we will request our divers to go down and check. That is going to be the role of our ROV,” she also said.
She added the use of the ROV will minimize the risk to PCG divers, noting that the water is murky.
“The murky water is the challenge that the diving operation is facing on a daily basis. We can minimize the risk to the (divers) because we are going to have this ROV,” Cayabyab said.
“Yesterday, there was almost zero visibility (under the water),” she said.
‘NOT PLANTED’
Meanwhile, the PCG yesterday dismissed allegations that the sacks retrieved from Taal Lake were planted.
“That’s normal. We cannot please everyone,” Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla, commander of the Coast District Southern Tagalog, told reporters during an interview yesterday afternoon.
“The Philippine Coast Guard, in coordination with the Philippine National Police and the Department of Justice, will continue doing our job professionally, diligently and properly,” Tuvilla said, adding that the PCG divers will continue conducting diving operations until the job is finished.
Netizens have claimed on social media that the items recovered by the PCG divers were merely planted, noting that they were placed inside relatively new sacks.
Tuvilla explained that the items were found inside already dilapidated sacks, thus divers needed to put “second protection” to preserve their integrity.
“They (sacks) were torn…. We put secondary protection so that when our divers surface, they won’t fall. They might fall out (and) and we cannot preserve the integrity of the objects we retrieved at the bottom. That’s how simple it is,” he said.
Cayabyab said: “The sacks were already dilapidated when we found them, meaning they are not intact. We don’t know since when the sacks were in the area.”
“I cannot give the specifics but the recovered sacks were dilapidated so we have to transfer them to fine mesh net so those inside wont fall when the divers bring them to the surface,” she also said.
Cayabyab could not immediately say if the items were indeed bones, saying these were immediately turned over to the custody of the PNP Scene of the Crime Office for examination.
“The PCG is denying these allegations,” Cayabyab told a radio interview, stressing that the PCG is involved in the operation merely to aid in the conduct of the “legitimate investigation” on the missing sabungeros.
“We are strictly following the process and we observe transparency in everything that we do. Even before and after every diving operation, we are observed by other agencies,” she said.
She said it was unfortunate that such allegations came out, noting that PCG divers are risking their lives to recover the remains of the victims.
“Imagine during the ascent of the technical divers, there is the possibility the contents will fall out…. We we’re just trying to preserve the integrity of the evidence, that’s why we placed them in fine mesh net,” she also said.
Suspect-turned-whistleblower Julie Patidongan, alias Totoy, has earlier said the sabungeros, who were abducted from 2021 to 2022, have been killed and their bodies dumped in Taal Lake.
Patidongan has pointed to gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang as the alleged mastermind.
Ang has denied the allegation and filed a P300 million extortion case against Patidongan before the Mandaluyong City Prosecutors Office.
