A lawyer for Charlie "Atong" Ang on Wednesday assailed the resolution of the Department of Justice to charge the businessman in court in connection with the missing sabungero case.

Defense counsel Atty. Gabriel L. Villareal described the ruling of the DOJ panel of prosecutors as "deeply flawed and grossly unfair to the accused."

Villareal said they are likely to file a motion for reconsideration and ask the DOJ to reverse the decision.

"The ruling, while likely given the bias apparent from DOJ conduct, suffers from clear factual gaps and substantial inconsistencies. Clearly the panel relied heavily on the flawed testimoy of a lone witness whose integrity is irreversibly compromised," Villareal said.

"It is unfortunate that the DOJ has been taken for a ride by a dubious witness masquerading as a crusader, out to pin the blame on my client to save his hide," he added.

"The fact that the DOJ did not recommend the filing of cases against the majority of those who were originally implicated in the case is, by itself, glaring proof of the spurious nature of Patidongan’s account,” he said.

"We are confident that we will debunk all malicious and fabricated claims made by Patidongan at the opportune time. He is the architect of this gruesome crime, no other," Villareal emphasized.

“It is rather anomalous that the Patidongan brothers were not charged in the case despite clear evidence of their participation in the alleged abduction and disappearance of certain cockfighting enthusiasts," Ang's lawyer noted.

Villareal added that the DOJ panel should have directed the Philippine National Police-Criminal Detection and Investigation Group to reinvestigate the case, as strongly argued by the defense team.

"Ordering a police reinvestigation is not only proper but mandated given the serious questions surrounding the legality and fairness of how this case has been handled," he said.