DOJ: Atong Ang is still in the country

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida on Wednesday asserted that based on immigration records, gambling tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang is still in the country.

Vida’s statement came a day after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that Ang had already left the country through the “backdoor.”

In a chance interview, Vida said he was “not aware” of Remulla’s source of information that Ang had already left the country, noting that the Bureau of Immigration’s account showed otherwise.

“Of course, we do understand that there were several instances in the past when he got out. That’s really the challenge because our borders are very porous,” the justice secretary told reporters.

“As the statement of your secretary of hustice, per records of the department, he is still in the country,” Vida said.

Ang has been wanted since January this year, after the Laguna and Batangas courts consecutively issued arrest orders on that month.

The directives were in connection with multiple criminal complaints, including 15 counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and four counts of kidnapping with homicide, filed against him.

These cases involve the reported kidnapping and killing of at least 34 ‘sabungeros’ (cockfighting enthusiasts) who allegedly cheated in cockfighting games linked to Ang between 2021 and 2022.

Last December 9, the DOJ indicted Ang and at least 21 others—including 15 police officers—for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of the sabungeros.

The investigation into the case of the sabungeros, who vanished as early as 2021, was revived following revelations by Julie “Dondon” Patidongan last year.

Patidongan said the sabungeros were allegedly abducted and strangled to death by a group of policemen, who then dumped their bodies in Taal Lake in Batangas.

He alleged that the killings were carried out on the orders of his former boss, Ang, who denied the allegations. /apl