Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla on Friday, Dec. 2, met with the families of 16 missing “sabungeros” or cockfight enthusiasts and all agreed to meet every month starting in January 2023.
Remulla told the families that no masterminds have been identified yet, but “there seems to be a group behind it.”
“Ang role ko dito (my role here) is to coordinate everything. We’re trying to put everybody together para may (so there would be) clear dialogue,” he said.
He assured the families that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have expressed willingness to coordinate with the DOJ in the conduct of the investigation.
So far, 34 “sabungeros” have been reported missing and all of them were allegedly abducted since 2021.
“We’re talking about eight clustered cases and four of them have been filed,” said Remulla who noted that the four cases are still pending before the DOJ.
One of these cases was filed by the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) Thursday, Dec. 1, before the DOJ against Julie Patidongan who is reportedly a staff of a farm in Laguna and an unidentified co-worker for the alleged kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Michael B. Bautista who has been reported missing since April 28, 2021.
“I cannot promise anything that I cannot control. But I can urge them to resolve it in the soonest possible time,” Remulla assured the families.
TAGS: #DOJ #PNP #NBI #Missing ‘sabungeros’