Palace on Atong Ang escape: Investigation needed to find lapses

Malacañang on Wednesday said there's a need to investigate to find out the lapses that led to the escape from the country of businessman Atong Ang, who is facing charges in connection with the alleged killing and disappearance of cockfighting enthusiasts, the so-called missing sabungeros.

Ang is suspected to be the mastermind behind the abduction of the missing sabungeros, and despite being a high-profile figure, he managed to flee the country, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“Tingnan po natin at sa ngayon ay dapat malaman natin, maimbestigahan kung talagang may lapses. So, may mga tao talaga na mabibilis tumakbo at hindi naman ito ang unang pagkakataon na tumakas itong si Atong Ang – noong unang nakasuhan din ito, nakaalpas din ito agad-agad,” Castro said in a media briefing when asked who was responsible for letting Ang get away.

(We will have to see and determine, to investigate if there really are lapses. There really are some people who are fast to run, after all this is not the first time that Ang escaped — when he first faced a case, he was able to get away fast.)

Castro also said that it was not certain when Ang escaped, as he could have gone out of the country before he was issued an arrest warrant.

“Kung ikaw ay tumalilis na at nagpunta sa ibang bansa ay hindi natin masisi ang gobyerno dahil karapatan ng bawat sinuman kung wala pang warrant of arrest at wala pang hold departure order na nai-issue ang korte,” Castro said.

(If you leave and go to another country then the government could not be blamed because everyone has the right to leave if they do not have an arrest warrant and there is no hold departure order issued by the court.)

Asked if Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla still enjoyed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. 's trust, Castro said that it would appear so.

“Sa ngayon wala tayong masasabing hindi. Kasi kung wala, masasabi ko na sa inyo,” Castro said. (For now, we cannot say no. Because if there is none, we will tell you about it.)

Ang was issued an arrest warrant in January, in connection with kidnapping and homicide.

Aside from reporting that Ang got away, Remulla also admitted regretting that he was unable to arrest Senator Ronaldo “Bato” Dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Pressed on whether there were no perceived lapses with the string of escaped personalities, Castro said that those who needed to be caught should be caught.

“So ibig sabihin ito magtrabaho tayo, magtrabaho kayo. Kung sino may mandato rito, magtrabaho sila. So, kung mayroong mga pagkukulang dito, dapat malaman ito ng Pangulo,” Castro said.

(This means that we should work, you should work. Whoever has the mandate, work on it. So, if there are lapses, the President should know about it.) –NB, GMA News