Children of businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang on Monday filed their counter-affidavits before the Department of Justice (DOJ) to refute allegations linking them to the disappearance of several sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts).

Through their lawyers, Ang’s children dismissed the accusations made by self-proclaimed whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan, calling them “baseless and bereft of any credible evidence.”

“Patidongan's testimony failed to establish the crimes charged with the prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction, which is the new quantum of evidence necessary for the case to proceed,” said Atty. Lorna Kapunan, counsel for Ang’s children.

Kapunan maintained that Ang’s children are innocent of all charges, saying their counter-affidavits include supporting evidence to prove their innocence.

She alleged that Patidongan—who is himself facing a kidnapping case before a Manila Regional Trial Court—is “desperately bent on implicating anyone, including Ang, his children, and close associates, to save his hide from potential prosecution.”

“By attempting to implicate Mr. Ang, his children, associates, and several others, Dondon is clearly grasping at straws in a desperate effort to evade accountability to the families of the missing sabungeros and the justice system,” Kapunan said.

She added that the real mastermind behind the case is Patidongan himself and that her clients will prove this in the DOJ’s ongoing preliminary investigation.

“Dondon Patidongan's false narrative is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shift blame onto those who had no involvement whatsoever in the alleged crimes,” Kapunan said.

“While they, too, seek justice for the missing sabungeros, they also trust that the Department of Justice will see through the baseless accusations hurled against them, and dismiss any baseless claims intended only to mislead or evade accountability,” she added.

Last week, Atong Ang filed his own counter-affidavit with the DOJ, asking the panel of prosecutors to return the case to the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP–CIDG) for reinvestigation.

Ang said the reinvestigation was necessary to ensure impartiality and lead to “a more credible case build-up by the DOJ, acceptable to all parties concerned.”