Were there Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel involved in the high-profile disappearance of at least 34 “sabungeros” or cockfight enthusiasts four years ago? This is now the million-dollar question that the National Police Commission (Napolcom) wants to find answers to.

Napolcom Vice Chairperson and Executive Officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan directed Napolcom Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Service (IMIS) to conduct a motu proprio investigation into the alleged involvement of several police officers in the case of the missing sabungeros.

“[The investigation] is incumbent upon us at Napolcom because we are already aware of the numerous reports about police officers being involved, so we need to investigate. Last night, we instructed our Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Service to investigate the case of the missing cockfighting enthusiasts,” Calinisan said in a television interview Friday, June 27.

The Napolcom’s investigation will be conducted in parallel to the probes being done by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other law enforcement agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and PNP.

The only difference is that the Napolcom will look into the administrative aspect of the case.

“Others focus on criminal cases, that’s the DOJ. There’s also a civil aspect involved in criminal matters. But when it comes to the administrative aspect, no one is looking into that yet,” explained Calinisan, a lawyer.

He said this is where the Napolcom comes in, where they would determine the possible liability of any police officer in the abduction of the cockfight enthusiasts.

The Napolcom official vowed that they would be the “pulis ng mga pulis” (police of the police), determining whether or not cops are fit to be police officers.

According to Calinisan, police officers who are proven guilty will be given appropriate penalties such as suspension, demotion, or even dismissal.

“We will leave no stone unturned. No matter who the police officer is and regardless of their rank, if it turns out that a cop is truly involved, assuming there is one, we will not hesitate to impose the highest penalty of dismissal on these officers,” he stated.

The development stemmed from the revelation of an accused in the case, alias “Totoy”, who claimed that around 20 police officers were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of 34 cockfight enthusiasts.

He also linked a showbiz personality allegedly connected to the mastermind behind the crime and a security guard from a cockfighting arena in Manila.

The sabungeros went missing from April 2021 to January 2022 in various cockfighting arenas and the victims’ homes in Laguna, Batangas, Manila, and Bulacan.

The accused earlier claimed that the number of missing sabungeros could go as high as 100. He said they were already dead and their remains were buried in Taal Lake.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Navy (PN) earlier expressed readiness to deploy technical divers to dive in Taal Lake to verify the accused’s claims.

Meanwhile, Calinisan urged Totoy and other complainants to file a formal complaint with Napolcom to expedite the resolution of the case.

“I am appealing to Alyas Totoy to appear and submit his Complaint Affidavit with the Napolcom so we can investigate and hear this case with absolute dispatch. There needs to be swift justice, and we will not hesitate to dispense swift justice,” he said.