Taal search for missing ‘sabungeros’ yields bones
The police and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday found suspected human remains stuffed in a sack on the lakebed of Taal Lake on the eve of the search for dozens of missing cockfighting enthusiasts by divers from the PCG Special Operations Force, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
A team from the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), in coordination with the PCG, “retrieved a white sack containing what appears to be burned human bones,” the DOJ statement said on Thursday night.
“This was during what was only supposed to be a preliminary inspection. However, a white sack was visibly identified and recovered from the lakebed,” the DOJ said.
For examination
The bones would undergo a forensic examination by the CIDG or the National Bureau of Investigation to establish whether they are human bones.
At the same time, DNA testing will also be conducted to identify any possible match with the relatives of the missing individuals.
“This discovery could represent a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation. While we proceed with caution and diligence, it offers renewed hope that we are closer to uncovering the truth and securing justice for the families of the missing,” the DOJ said.
The statement did not specify what type of bones were recovered, or the location of the town in Batangas or Cavite, which surround the lake, where these were found
Blackened fragments
A picture released by the authorities showed what appeared to be charcoal-like blackened fragments.
Two coast guard members in orange long-sleeve shirts were shown in a video hauling in a soiled sack that supposedly contained the bones from the water not far from the lakeshore.
DOJ spokesperson Dominic Clavano IV told the Inquirer that the remains were found “a few meters from the shore.”
He told reporters earlier on Thursday that if the organized search starting on Friday were successful, the government would have “damning” evidence of the missing “e-sabong” aficionados, some of whom had disappeared since April 2021.
“So, we do hope to see remains that will match the DNA of those missing cockfight enthusiasts,” he said. “However, even if we do not find the bodies, what we have to prove is the fact of death.”
“So, plan A is really definitely to exert all effort to find the remains of these missing sabungeros, but at the same time, even if we do not find, we still have many options and we can corroborate the statements with hard evidence,” he added.
The search, however, may be affected by the weather during this monsoon season when sudden storms hit parts of the country, the PCG said.
President’s order
The operation follows last week’s directive from President Marcos for a full investigation of the disappearances and a formal request from Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday.
Remulla requested for the deployment of specialized units and remotely operated vehicles and aerial drones, to support the investigation, said PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan.
The DOJ, PCG and the PNP prepared for the inter-agency operation, with technical diving and site assessment earlier this week.
Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog Commander Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla said in a statement on Thursday that the staging area, command post, and aerial drones to be used in the operation were already in position.
Gavan has also instructed the Coast Guard Fleet and Coast Guard Aviation Command to use the PCG’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to support the search and retrieval operations.
Totoy’s claims
At least 34 cockfighting aficionados went missing over the period April 2021 to January 2022 from different parts of Luzon.
Early this month, Julie “Dondon” Patidongan, also known as “Totoy,” claimed that the missing sabungeros were buried in Taal Lake in Batangas.
Taal Lake spans 234 square kilometers and its deepest part is 198 meters. Taal Volcano, one of the Philippines’ most active volcanos, erupted in January 2020 about a year before the first group of sabungeros went missing. It last erupted in December 2024.
CIDG chief Police. Brig. Gen. Romeo J. Macapaz on Thursday vowed that the police “will deliver justice” for the families of those who went missing.
“We cannot really determine when we can find tangible evidence that can stand in court to convict certain people,” he said. “At the moment, we are depending on the testimony of a single person, so, we really need more investigation.”
“There should be light, there should be justice at the end of the day,” he added.
Important step
Clavano said the information about the lake burial also came from “other credible informants who approached us” after Patidongan first made the claim in an interview with GMA News on July 2.
“This is a very important step in the investigation because we don’t want to leave any stone unturned,” Clavano said.
According to him, experts had advised officials “on what we should be looking for,” noting that the search was in a fresh water lake not in the sea.
The search team is hoping to get a “good picture” of the lakebed, following a tip that the bodies were tied to sandbags to weigh them down and make them sink faster.
The “ground zero” for the search lies adjacent to Laurel, Batangas, according to Tuvilla.
After the survey of the area, Tuvilla noted that the water there was murky and visibility diminished with depth. “The area is also muddy,” he said.
Possible, but…
According to science research specialist Jerome de Lima of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, it is possible to find remains in Taal Lake.
However, De Lima told the Inquirer on Thursday that it is “almost impossible” to recover remains from the crater lake of the volcano because the high sulfur content of the water would make it extremely difficult.
Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. told the Inquirer that “the chemistry of Taal lake is different from the chemistry of Main Crater Lake of Taal Volcano.”
“It is possible to recover remains like bones that can be subject to further forensic tests,” he said.
“Human remains like bones can be recovered from the lake,” Solidum said. “Recovery can be challenging if the remains will be in deep waters as some parts of the lake are more than 100 meters deep.”
‘We won’t stop’
As of today, the investigators haven’t reached out to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for help regarding the case.
Clavano emphasized that the goal of the search was to “make sure that there are no human remains or, if ever there are, to find them.”
“So, until we can say for certain that there are none, or that there are, we won’t stop,” he said.
The missing sabungeros were suspected of cheating and were allegedly abducted and killed, with no confirmed traces of their bodies found to this day.
In January 2022, Patidongan and five security personnel of the Manila Arena where some of the victims were last seen were charged with abduction. They have since been released on bail.
