A rift has emerged among the families of the country’s missing online sabungeros following allegations Monday that one faction is seeking a P1-billion out-of-court settlement to drop charges against gambling businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang.

During a hastily called press conference in Calumpit, a newly formed group of complainants denied any involvement in the reported settlement talks.

Instead, they pointed to two other victims’ relatives, Dianne Loyola and Jaja Peralta, as the individuals brokering the multi-million peso negotiation.

“They did not even include us in the discussions,” complainant Ryan Bautista said in Tagalog. “And now, we are the ones being accused of receiving millions. This is not true.”

Neither Loyola nor Ang’s representatives have confirmed that any such settlement talks have occurred.

Bautista claimed that Loyola and Peralta had previously accused his faction of seeking financial payoffs from Ang’s camp.

However, he countered that it was Loyola and Peralta who personally admitted to him that they were working on a plan to secure P1 billion in exchange for dismissing the cases against the businessman.

Bautista also denied claims that his group had lost interest in pursuing the case because they had allegedly already been paid.

“After they removed all of us from the group chat, now they are turning the tables on us,” Bautista said.

The allegations follow a move last week by Loyola and other members of her faction, including Cha Lasco, who filed a report with the National Police Commission.