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MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang has been accused in a series of brutal murders.
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After nearly four years of silence and stalled investigations, the families of missing sabungeros, or cockfighting enthusiasts, have filed criminal complaints at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for murder and serious illegal detention against the businessman, members of the so-called Alpha Group and several police officers for alleged involvement in the disappearances.
The Philippine Department of Justice has charged the gambling tycoon with murder and serious illegal detention in connection with the disappearance and alleged killings of cockfighting enthusiasts (known as “sabungeros”) between April 2021 and January 2022. 108 individuals remain missing though he is currently suspected of being the mastermind behind the abduction and summary execution of 34 sabungeros, whose bodies were allegedly disposed of in Taal Lake.
Ang said he welcomed the formal filing of cases against him over his alleged involvement in the “missing sabungeros” case, saying he is ready to address the allegations in the appropriate legal forum.
In a statement on Sunday, August 3, Ang, through his lawyer Gabriel Villareal, maintained his innocence and cautioned against the testimony of self-proclaimed whistleblower Julie Patidongan, describing it as “flawed, self-serving, and unsubstantiated.”
“It is from that strategic vantage point that Patidongan was able to upscale from a robbery syndicate to operating his criminal network of illegal gambling, kidnapping, extortion and intimidation, using, without the knowledge of his superiors, the resources and network available to him,” Ang, through Villareal’s statement, read.
“Finding himself under threat of exposure when he was himself tagged in the disappearance of a cockfighting competitor in Manila sometime late last year, he would now point to his superiors as masterminds in an incredulous story he has concocted to avoid the consequences of his criminal designs,” he added.
The powerful figure said to have influence up to the Philippine Supreme Court.
