Over 2,000 bones recovered in missing sabungeros probe
PHILIPPINE Coast Guard divers cut through the stillness of Taal Lake, expecting silt and silence — only to rise with a sack of burned bones, amid the search for cockfighting aficionados long feared thrown into its depths.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PCG
More than 2,000 bones have so far been recovered from Taal Lake as authorities continue searching for the remains of missing sabungeros allegedly dumped in the area, the Philippine National Police Forensic Group said Thursday.
PNP Forensic Group Director Pierre Paul Carpio said DNA extracted from the recovered bones is currently undergoing cross-matching with the DNA profiles of the missing individuals.
“Continuous ang ating examination sa mga ito, and then, we will have a comprehensive results, reports with regards to matching ng mga DNA natin,” Carpio said.
He declined to say whether any of the remains had already been positively identified, citing the difficulty of processing skeletal evidence.
“Unang una, buto ito — ito ang pinaka-mahirap na parte ng katawan na kinukuhaan ng DNA at maproseso,” he said.
Earlier, whistleblower Julie Patidongan, a former aide of gambling operator Atong Ang, alleged that the victims were abducted and killed at a slaughterhouse near a fishpond in Laurel.
Patidongan claimed the victims, some of whom were allegedly involved in game-fixing, were later dumped into Taal Lake.
At least 34 individuals linked to online cockfighting disappeared in separate incidents between 2021 and 2022.