The children of businessman Charlie ‘Atong’ Ang on Monday asserted that they have no involvement in the disappearance of the missing sabungeros or cockfighting enthusiasts.
Ang’s children maintained their innocence in counter-affidavits submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) as preliminary investigations into the case of the missing sabungeros continue.
Ang and his children were among the 62 implicated by the families of the missing sabungeros’ victims who accused them of multiple counts of murder, multiple counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, violation of Republic Act (RA) 10353; obstruction of Justice; violation of RA 11983 or the New Philippine Passport Act; corruption of public officials; and violation of RA 9851 or the the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
But in a statement released by their counsel, The Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices, the Ang siblings argued through their counter-affidavits that ‘the case implicating them in the case of the missing sabungeros is baseless and bereft of any credible evidence.’
‘The complaint against the children of Mr. Ang rests solely on the statements of a co-respondent and supposed whistleblower, Julie A. Patidongan, otherwise known as ‘Dondon’,’ the law firm said.
‘Unfortunately, such testimony, baseless and uncorroborated as it is, clearly failed to establish the crimes charged with prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction, which is the new quantum of evidence necessary for the case to proceed,’ it added.
It was pointed out that Patidongan himself already stands trial before the Regional Trial Court of Manila for the kidnapping of the missing sabungeros and that he is now merely ‘grasping at straws in a desperate effort to evade accountability’ in implicating the Angs.
‘The Ang family is confident that truth and due process will ultimately prevail,’ said the law firm.
Patidongan was the whistleblower who tagged Ang as the mastermind behind the missing sabungeros, along with actress Gretchen Barretto.
He was also the same individual who first claimed that all the missing sabungeros had been killed and their remains dumped in Taal Lake in Batangas. /gsg