Atong Ang files charges against sabungero whistleblower

Businessman and gaming tycoon Charlie "Atong" Ang on Thursday filed criminal charges against Julie “Dondon” Patidongan, also known as alias Totoy, one of the whistleblowers linking him to the case of 34 missing sabungeros. The complaint was filed before the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor's Office.

In his affidavit, Ang—accompanied by his legal counsel Atty. Lorna Kapunan—accused Patidongan of robbery, grave threat, grave coercion, slander, and incriminating an innocent person. Alan Bantiles, also known as alias Brown, was also named in the complaint.

Speaking at a press conference, Ang claimed that Patidongan had extorted hundreds of millions of pesos from him in exchange for not implicating him in the high-profile case. “Ang puno't dulo talaga nyan pera. Lahat ng grupo namin tinatawagan nila—meron kasi kami group A and group B. Tulungan daw si Don [alias Totoy] kasi tatakas na, kelangan daw ng pera,” he said. “Yung grupo namin lahat tinatawagan nya isa-isa, nag e-extort eh. Pagkatapos nya gumawa ng kalokohan bigla nalang sya aalis ng bansa, yan ang problema,” he added.

He maintained that the accusations were baseless and had severely damaged his reputation and that of his associates. “Malalaman nyo sa pag-iimbestiga lalabas ang katotohanan na wala kaming kinalaman dyan,” he said. “Hindi ko masabi kung sino ang nasa likod nito. Siguro sa pag-iimbestiga ng mga kapulisan makikita ang puno't dulo nyan,” he added.

Ang, chairman of Pitmaster, expressed frustration that his side of the story has not been adequately heard. “We were filed cases against by a person whose side you only hear. Now, I want to be transparent and let the truth come out. Just look at everything he says,” he said.

He emphasized that those being accused are law-abiding individuals with no criminal history. “Everyone he accuses should be examined carefully. The police are investigating all accusations, but our side is not being heard,” he added. “Gusto ko lang maging transparent. Gusto ko lumabas lahat ng katotohanan. Tingnan nyo nalang isang tao na nagsasalita against saming mga disenteng tao,” he said.

Ang also denied offering Patidongan P300 million as a bribe, clarifying that the amount was part of a settlement plan discussed to help the whistleblower and his family relocate due to alleged threats. Atty. Carol Cruz, another member of Ang's legal team, confirmed that a meeting took place on 12 June at EDSA Shangri-La involving Ang, Patidongan, and Bantiles.

Cruz explained that Bantiles had approached Ang to persuade Patidongan to accept the offer to leave the country safely—not to obstruct justice, but as humanitarian assistance. Ang stressed, “These talks were part of efforts to help Patidongan and his family escape a difficult situation, and not an attempt to buy silence.”

Addressing other names mentioned by Patidongan, such as engineer Ernesto Salazar, Ang said, “Salazar has no criminal record,” dismissing any insinuation of wrongdoing.

Ang also accused Patidongan and his allies of ongoing harassment and extortion. “Last night, Brown called several people in our group to demand money to help Dondon escape. They were extorting us,” he said. “He thinks once he says nonsense, he can just leave after getting the money. That’s the problem,” he added.

To the families of the missing sabungeros, Ang said he hopes the investigation will uncover the truth. “We have no involvement in the disappearances. All our members are decent people.”

He concluded by expressing readiness to face the courts. “We don’t know what really happened. We’ve been harassed too much. Now, we need to come out and fight.”

Kapunan questions

Kapunan, for her part, questioned Patidongan’s credibility. “Kaya tingnan natin, credible ba ang whistleblower na ito? Kaya kami nandito ang objective po natin ay lumabas ang katotohanan,” she said.

She also revealed that Patidongan, a former security chief in some of Ang's farms and cockfight arenas, has been previously charged with sexual harassment, frustrated murder, murder, multiple frustrated murder, and robbery with threat and intimidation. “He was a direct responsible for this case, sya ang farm manager na binigyan ng trust and confidence ni Mr. Ang,” Kapunan said.

Kapunan also claimed they discovered Patidongan was running a separate illegal operation. “Nalaman din namin na meron pala syang separate na business, doon sya gunagawa ng pera—illegal operations. Siguro ang tawag ko dun private armies, napakadaming security guards at madaming firearms,” she said.

She emphasized their willingness to work with the government. “We will truly cooperate with the Secretary of Justice and the investigating officers,” she said.

Kapunan further argued that Patidongan should not qualify as a whistleblower due to his level of involvement. “Pag state witness dapat less guilty. Sa RTC Manila sya ang pinaka-guilty doon, sya ang may direct participation,” she said.