Metro Manila, Philippines – Businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang is facing criminal charges over his alleged involvement in the disappearance of dozens of cockfight enthusiasts, or “sabungeros,” who went missing in separate incidents between 2021 and 2022.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that charges of kidnapping with homicide and kidnapping and serious illegal detention were filed against Ang on Friday, Dec. 19, with the regional trial courts in Lipa, Batangas, and Sta. Cruz and San Pablo, Laguna.
“Under the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, the courts wherein the Informations are filed will issue the corresponding warrants of arrest upon its determination of the existence of probable cause based on the evidence submitted and the resolution by the panel of prosecutors,” DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said in a statement on Monday, Dec. 22.
On Dec. 9, the DOJ announced it had found initial proof with a reasonable certainty of conviction to indict Ang and a number of other respondents, including police officials.
The case gained traction after whistleblower Julie Patidongan surfaced in June, and tagged Ang as the mastermind who ordered the abduction and killing of the sabungeros, who were supposedly dumped in Taal Lake.
Ang denied the accusations and filed an appeal on the DOJ resolution. The motion is unresolved, with Martinez noting the DOH has 30 days to make a decision.
