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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Palace: No cover-up in missing sabungeros case

Palace: No cover-up in missing sabungeros case

Published Jul 11, 2025 04:47 pm
There will be no cover-up in the case of the missing sabungeros, Malacañang said amid the ongoing investigation of the four-year-old case.
An inter-agency search and retrieval operation is conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), and Department of Justice (DOJ) at the Taal Lake in Talisay, Batangas on July 10, 2025 to locate the remains of 34 missing sabungeros believed to have been killed and dumped in the lake. (Santi San Juan / MANILA BULLETIN)
An inter-agency search and retrieval operation is conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), and Department of Justice (DOJ) at the Taal Lake in Talisay, Batangas on July 10, 2025 to locate the remains of 34 missing sabungeros believed to have been killed and dumped in the lake. (Santi San Juan / MANILA BULLETIN)
After President Marcos ordered the deeper and extensive investigation on the case of at least 34 cockfighting enthusiasts, who went missing four years ago, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro made an assurance that there will be no cover-up on the investigation.
If the remains of the sabungeros would indeed be found in Taal Lake  through the ongoing search operations, the current administration will not let a coverup happen, and ensures that justice will be served.
“Sa Pangulo po, dapat po talaga ay mas alamin pa kung ito pong mga natagpuan ay talagang may kinalaman po sa nasabing kaso ng mga missing sabungeros (For the President, there is truly a need to further determine whether these findings are indeed related to the case of the missing cockfighting enthusiasts),” Castro said in a Palace briefing on Friday, July 11.
“At kung ito po ay mapapatunayang talagang konektado, ito’y nagpapakita lamang na ang Pangulo at ang kasalukuyang administrasyon ay tutulong upang makamtam ang hustisya para sa mga biktima (And if it is proven that they are truly connected, it only shows that the President and the current administration are committed to helping achieve justice for the victims),” Castro added.
“At hindi po ito pababayaan, hindi po magkakaroon ng coverup, tuluy-tuloy pa rin po ang pag-iimbestiga – iyan po ang nais ng Pangulo (This will not be neglected, there will be no cover-up, and the investigation will continue — that is what the President wants),” Castro further said.
As of Friday, at least 50 Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) divers have been deployed to scour Taal Lake for the remains of the missing cockfight enthusiasts.
The retrieval operations  made its first major breakthrough on Thursday, July 10, when authorities discovered a sack filled with blackened remains believed to be bones.
READ MORE: Search for missing sabungeros' remains makes major breakthrough with discovery of sack filled with 'blackened remains'

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President Marcos missing sabungeros Taal Lake
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