Suspected human ribs also found- DOJ chief
Authorities have recovered what are believed to be human ribs in Taal Lake where the bodies or more than two dozen people were allegedly dumped after they were killed for game fixing in online cockfighting, or e-sabong, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
“Today, human remains were found in Taal Lake in the area pointed out to us by our sources, which was also identified by alias Totoy,” Remulla said in a press briefing, referring to Julie Patidongan, the whistleblower who is also one of the accused in the case.
A forensic analysis has yet to be conducted on the bones.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) chief said four sacks were retrieved from the lake – two filled with sand and two containing skeletal remains – at a location pinpointed by informants as a dumping ground for bodies.
Taal gets restive
He raised concerns about the safety of the search operation when Taal Volcano suddenly exploded on Thursday.
A phreatic explosion caused by water mixing with magma cause a stir at Taal around 3 p.m. on Thursday, creating a plume that rose 2.4 kilometers high, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PhiVolcs).
“Let’s stop in the meantime,” Remulla said in reaction to the latest sign of unrest of one of the country’s most active volcanos. “PhiVolcs will advise us if we can resume or whether it is safe or not.”
The volcanology agency later announced that the search and retrieval at Taal could continue, saying that the volcanic activity posed no direct threat to the area of the search.
According to Phivolcs Volcano Monitoring Division Chief Ma. Antonia Bornas, the plumes of the recent phreatomagmatic eruptions at Taal’s main crater were minor and occurred southeast of the lake, at the opposite side of the ongoing search efforts.
Bornas said that the permanent danger zone covers only Taal Volcano Island itself, which remains strictly off limits. The Laurel town coast, where the operations are being conducted, is 4 kilometers to 5 km from the crater and outside the high-risk zone.
The discovery of the remains on Thursday was “positive indication” that Patidongan “knew what he was talking about,” Remulla said.
Boatmen show spot
According to him, the area was identified by a group of boatmen who Patidongan said were allegedly tasked with disposing the bodies. The boatmen showed authorities the exact spot where the bodies were dumped and mapped out search quadrants in the area.
“When the guide was asked where to go, they pointed out the direction to search. And true enough, when they dived there, they hit the spot. So, the witnesses we spoke with are actually very reliable,” the justice chief said.
Remulla said on Thursday that the three people whose remains were exhumed a day earlier in a cemetery near the lake were not connected to the drug war, but were still related to the missing e-sabungeros.
“The connection to the drug war is that the death squads used here in e-sabong are the same ones commonly used during the drug war, and we can identify the units these people came from. We’ve already linked the histories of some of the officials involved in this,” Remulla said.
One possibly female
He said the bodies of the three, including possibly a woman, had floated on Taal Lake and the faces were still “somewhat recognizable.”
But the bodies were not identified or claimed by anyone, so the police had them buried.
“Hopefully, we can extract DNA once we start tracking,” Remulla said. “One appears to be female because a woman’s underwear was found in one of the sacks, which strengthens the suspicion. There really was a reported incident about a woman who was abducted in Lipa.”
He said one of the witnesses positively identified a “familiar” basketball jersey found with the remains. “When he saw the basketball uniform, he said that was it,” he said.
The justice secretary declined to disclose how many witnesses they had aside from Patidongan.
He said, however, that Patidongan was not their only source of information.
Patidongan has yet to submit a formal criminal complaint or affidavit to the DOJ.
When asked when he last spoke to the whistleblower, Remulla said: “Let’s talk about that later. I’ll still be able to talk to him again, so you don’t need that information.”
Estomo demands apology
Retired Police Lt. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, the former National Capital Region police chief,
on Thursday demanded a public apology from Patidongan for linking him to the disappearances, warning that he would take legal action if the whistleblower does not retract his claims.
Patidongan said Estomo was a member of the ‘alpha group’ under gaming tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang and that he ordered a hit on the whistleblower.
To refute Patidongan’s claims, Estomo presented a July 11 certification from the Pitmaster Foundation Inc. chaired by Ang. The document states that Estomo was not a trustee or an officer of the corporation or was connected to its business activities or operations.
“To use simple language, if I am not connected how did I become a member of the ‘alpha group,’” he said in a phone interview with reporters.
Patidongan, who is out on bail, filed an administrative complaint on Monday against 18 active and dismissed policemen at the National Police Commission in connection with the case. Patidongan first alleged that Estomo was one of the conspirators in the disappearances.
In a July 16 interview with dzRH radio, he tagged Estomo as a member of Ang’s alleged “alpha group.” —WITH A REPORT FROM RENZ PALALIMPA
