2 Crame cops axed for meddling in ‘sabungeros’ case
Two police officers assigned at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, have been relieved from their posts after they were accused of intervening in the case of missing “sabungeros” or cockfight enthusiasts.
The two were identified as Highway Patrol Group (HPG) spokesperson Lt. Nadame Malang and PNP Custodial Center officer-in-charge Maj. Reynaldo Pañebe Jr. Their relief on May 20 was based on a special order from the HPG and an incident report from the Headquarters Support Service (HSS).
Malang and Pañebe are accused of facilitating unauthorized meetings between the relatives of the missing sabungeros and the police officers implicated in the case who are currently detained at the custodial center.
The allegation was made by some of the victims’ families who went to the National Police Commission on Wednesday to file an administrative case against the pair.
The Inquirer tried to get a comment from Malang and Pañebe but as of this writing, they had yet to respond.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame on Thursday, HPG director Brig. Gen. Rommel Batangan said that Malang had facilitated the entry of three of the complainants in the sabungeros case into the PNP custodial center.
Batangan, however, said the HPG spokesperson did not accompany them inside.
HSS director Brig. Gen. Manuel Abrugena, on the other hand, said Pañebe told them he was unaware that the three “visitors” were among the case complainants.
Procedural
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño, who was also at the briefing, said the relief order was part of their standard operating procedure.
“We’re not saying our two personnel are guilty,” he told reporters. “We implemented their immediate relief to avoid affecting the ongoing investigation, both criminal and administrative, in the two offices I mentioned.”
At least 22 people, mostly police officers and gambling tycoon Atong Ang, are facing multiple counts of kidnapping over the alleged disappearance of at least 34 sabungeros between 2021 and 2022. Of those charged, only Ang has yet to be arrested despite a P10-million bounty for any information leading to his capture.
According to a whistleblower, Ang ordered the victims kidnapped and killed for cheating in cockfighting games.
The complainants, meanwhile, said they were contacted by someone from Ang’s camp, who had “encouraged” them to speak with the police officers detained at Camp Crame.
They further claimed that some of their fellow complainants in the sabungeros case had withdrawn the charges against the respondents supposedly in exchange for P40,000 a month.
