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

Through their lawyers, Ang’s children described the claims of self-proclaimed whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan as “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, one of the lawyers representing Ang’s children.

Kapunan maintained that Ang’s children are innocent of all charges filed by Patidongan, saying their counter-affidavits include evidence disproving his claims.

She noted that Patidongan—who is 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 added.

She said the real mastermind behind the case is Patidongan himself, and that her clients intend to 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, Charlie “Atong” Ang filed his own counter-affidavit with the DOJ, urging prosecutors to return the case to the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP–CIDG) for reinvestigation.

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