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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Gretchen Barretto faces complainants in missing 'sabungeros' cases at DOJ; Atong Ang fails to appear

Gretchen Barretto faces complainants in missing 'sabungeros' cases at DOJ; Atong Ang fails to appear

Published Sep 18, 2025 03:59 pm
While actress Gretchen Barretto was present during the start of the preliminary investigation on the cases of the missing “sabungeros” at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, Sept. 18, businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang did not appear.
“S’ya lang ang nag-iisa sa pagkakatanda ko ang nakapag-submit ng counter-affidavit ngayong araw (As far as I remember, Barretto was the only one who submitted her counter-affidavit today,” said Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Charlie Guhit who chairs the panel of prosecutors.
“Lahat deferred and submission (The rest deferred their submission of counter-affidavits),” added Guhit who noted there are 61 respondents who have been named in the complaints.
He also said that many respondents failed to appear during the preliminary investigation.
He added that retired Police Lt. Gen. Jonnel Estomo was present during the hearing.
During the hearing, Guhit said that the complaints swore on the veracity of the complaints they filed against the respondents last Aug. 1 for murder and serious illegal detention.
Lawyer Alma Mallonga, Barretto’s legal counsel, stated that the counter-affidavit of the actress declared that “basically there is no proof.”
Mallonga said the allegations against Barretto are based on the statements of whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan who was present during the hearing at the DOJ.
The lawyer pointed out that “as a matter of law, as I said, allegations are not evidence.”
“Suspicion, opinion, rumors, speculation are not evidence. There is no evidence in this case,” she stressed.
Ang was represented before the panel by lawyer Gabriel Villareal.
“Si Mr. Ang po ay hindi makakarating today gawa ng hindi po handa ang kanyang counter-affidavit (Mr. Ang cannot appear today because he is not prepared to submit a counter-affidavit),” Villareal told reporters.
Villareal explained that, during the hearing, “marami sa mga respondents kasama na kami ay nagrereklamo na ‘yung mga ipinadala sa aming papeles ay kulang-kulang (many of the respondents including us are complaining that the documents that were sent to us were not complete).”
He said that while the subpoenas issued to respondents included copies of the complainants and documentary evidence, the USB flash drive that allegedly contains crucial evidence was not included.
After hearing Villareal’s lament, Guhit said the panel of prosecutors asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to submit the USB flash drive before the panel on the next scheduled hearing on Sept. 29.
Once the USB flash drive has been provided, Guhit said the respondents will be asked to submit counter-affidavits tentatively on Oct. 13.
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