Several police officers allegedly involved in the disappearance of 34 cockfighters (sabungero) four years ago have now reached out to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Police Commission (Napolcom), indicating a possible intention to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

PNP Chief, Police General Nicolas Torre III and Napolcom Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan welcomed the development on Wednesday, July 9, saying some of the police officers tied to the case could be state witnesses.

“May mga iba kaming feelers na nakukuha. Sa totoo lang sana magmaterialize ‘yung kanilang paglapit and hopefully ‘yung kanilang paglapit na ito makapagproduce ng affidavit at maging susi rin sa ating imbestigasyon (We’ve been receiving some feelers. Honestly, we hope their approach materializes, and hopefully, it leads to them producing an affidavit that could also be key to our investigation),” Calinisan said in an interview with reporters.

Torre, for his part, added: “If some of them will volunteer to be state witnesses, then that will be a welcome development in the investigation.”

However, no formal testimony before the PNP and Napolcom has been made so far.

The PNP and Napolcom are also waiting for the sworn statement from the whistleblower, Julie “Dondon/Totoy” Patidongan, who revealed that around 15 cops are linked to the case of the missing sabungeros.

“Wala pa kaming nakikita. Sadly, medyo sa kuwentuhan more or less alam natin ‘yung kuwento pero as to a formal document wala pa akong hawak ni isang pahina ng affidavit ni alias Totoy (We haven’t seen anything yet. Sadly, while we more or less know the story through conversations, as for a formal document, I don’t have a single page of an affidavit from alias Totoy),” Calinisan shared.

“Sana matapos na 'yang affidavit na ‘yan. Sana lumutang na si Totoy at ifile ito sa Napolcom kasi masyado nang matagal. Apat na taon nang nagdurusa ang taumbayan (I hope that affidavit gets completed soon. I hope Totoy finally comes forward and files it with Napolcom because this has taken far too long. The public has been suffering for four years already),” he added.

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

Calinisan said the criminal aspect of the case could be tedious but the administrative part, which pertains to the alleged involvement of police officers, would be faster.

“Doon more or less makakakita tayo ng galawan. Kung inosente itong mga pulis na ito, eh inosente. Kung dapat silang tanggalin sa serbisyo, tanggalin (More or less, that’s where we’ll see some movement. If these police officers are innocent, then they’re innocent. But if they need to be removed from service, then they should be removed),” he stated.

The PNP said the 15 officers, including a lieutenant colonel, were placed under restrictive custody as they are being investigated for criminal and administrative charges related to the missing sabungeros.

Torre said Patidongan has submitted to the PNP the petty cash vouchers showing the names of police officers allegedly accepting bribes from cockfighting operators.

Meanwhile, the PNP is tracing the location of other potential burial sites of the cockfighters aside from Taal Lake.

Previously, Patidongan claimed that the missing sabungeros are already dead and their remains were buried in Taal Lake.

“Mayroon na kaming mga iilan na binibisita. May mga areas kami not only around Laguna or Batangas but other parts of the Metro and of course in the underlying areas (We’ve already started visiting a few [locations]. We have areas not only around Laguna or Batangas but also in other parts of Metro Manila and, of course, in the underlying areas),” Torre said.

He said the PNP also supports the decision of the Department of Justice to begin the search and retrieval operations in Taal Lake this week.

“Actually we are pushing on that. Ang mga concerns lang halimbawa tulad ngayon may bagyong parating, ‘yung mga ganoon. The conditions of the operational environment isa ‘yan sa mga nagiging factor (The concerns are just things like, for example, a typhoon is approaching, situations like that. The conditions of the operational environment are one of the factors). Otherwise, we are ready also,” the PNP chief noted.

The Philippine Navy (PN) has also alerted its elite technical divers from the Naval Special Operations Command (NAVSOCOM) for possible assistance in finding the remains of the missing sabungeros in Taal Lake.

PN spokesperson John Percie Alcos said the Navy could dispatch three teams of NAVSOCOM divers, with each team composed of four Navy SEALs, for a total of 12 divers.

“They can be dispatched anytime, anywhere, any place,” Alcos mentioned. “We are just waiting for the official request for assistance from the Department of Justice.”