The Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on Monday said eight suspects tagged in the disappearance of at least six cockfight enthusiasts are now facing kidnapping and illegal detention cases.
CIDG Director Eliseo Cruz reported this to the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs which resumed its investigation into the case of the 34 missing “sabungeros” or cockfight players on Monday, March 21.
Three witnesses, according to Cruz, came forward and identified eight suspects.
“Three witnesses surfaced in this case and executed their sworn statements identifying the suspects who are responsible in this case. Based on the sworn statements of a vital witness, he identified six suspects while two other witnesses also identified two other suspects,” said Cruz.
Cruz said kidnapping and serious illegal detention are punishable under Article 268 of the Revised Penal Code. The cases were filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) last March 18.
“There are now eight cases being handled by the CIDG involving 34 reported missing persons engaged in e-sabong within the period of April 18, 2021, to January 13, 2022,” Cruz said.
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Monday conducted another hybrid hearing on the case of the missing cockfight enthusiasts even after Malacañang declined to heed a resolution signed by 23 senators expressing the sense of the Senate strongly urging the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to suspend the license of online cockfighting (e-sabong) operators until the cases of the missing individuals are solved.
“We use the resolution to make sure that we can shed light to this investigation. But since it was denied, we have to move on and we should not be distracted towards our main objective of this hearing which is to locate or possibly recover the living or the dead bodies of these 34 missing persons,” Dela Rosa said during the hearing.