Actress Gretchen Barretto appeared Thursday at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and submitted her counter-affidavit denying allegations that she was involved in the disappearance of missing sabungeros.

Trader Charlie “Atong” Ang, another respondent in the case, skipped the hearing but was represented by his lawyer.

The preliminary hearing at the DOJ main office in Manila was hampered by incomplete submissions from the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).

Ang’s legal team cited missing documents and USB drives as the reason for not filing a counter-affidavit.

Ang’s counsel, Gabriel Villareal, said the seven folders of documents they received lacked the five accompanying USB drives containing critical videos and statements, including one from Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

“The envelopes only had photocopies of the USB contents, not the physical drives themselves,” Villareal explained. He added that without the complete materials, his client could not respond intelligently to the charges.

Barretto’s lawyer, Alma Mallonga, described the allegations made by whistleblower Julie Patidongan as “bare allegations” without evidence.

“Suspicions, rumors, speculations are not evidence. There’s no evidence in this case,” she said. Mallonga said her client hopes the case will be dismissed quickly, emphasizing that their position is for justice to be duly served.

Prosecutor Charlie Guhit confirmed that only Barretto had submitted a counter-affidavit, while the other respondents deferred their submissions due to incomplete documents.

The DOJ has ordered the PNP to provide the missing USBs before the next hearing on 29 September.

Guhit also noted that the process of affirming affidavits during preliminary investigations contributed to the hearing’s length but stressed that proceedings will continue under standard procedure.