The children of businessman Charlie “Atong” on Monday, Oct. 20, filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) their counter-affidavit that refuted the allegations of their involvement in the disappearance of “sabungeros” or cockfight enthusiasts.

The Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices, which represents Ang’s children, said in a statement “the case implicating them in the case of the missing sabungeros is baseless and bereft of any credible evidence.

“The Ang family is confident that truth and due process will ultimately prevail,” the law firm said.

“While they, too, seek justice for the missing sabungeros, they also trust that the Department of Justice will see through the baseless accusations hurled against them, and dismiss any baseless claims intended only to mislead or evade accountability,” it also said.

The counter-affidavit was submitted before the panel of prosecutors conducting the preliminary investigation on the complaints filed by the families of the victims against Ang and 60 of his co-respondents, including his children.

The complainants accused the respondents of multiple counts of murder under the Revised Penal Code (RPC); multiple counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention under the RPC; violation of Republic Act (RA) 10353, An Act Defining and Penalizing Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance; obstruction of Justice under Presidential Decree No. 1829; violation of RA 11983 or the New Philippine Passport Act; corruption of public officials under the RPC; and violation of RA 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

“The complaint against the children of Mr. Ang rests solely on the statements of co-respondent and supposed whistleblower, Julie A. Patidongan, otherwise known as ‘Dondon’,” said the law firm.

It pointed out: “Unfortunately, such testimony, baseless and uncorroborated as it is, clearly failed to establish the crimes charged with prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction, which the new quantum of evidence necessary for the case to proceed.”

In the counter-affidavit, the DOJ was told that “the children of Mr. Ang were able to squarely refute the allegations of Dondon and presented concrete proof affirming their innocence.”

The law firm reminded that “Dondon already stands trial before the Regional Trial Court of Manila for kidnapping the missing sabungeros.”

“By attempting to implicate Mr. Ang, his children, associates, and several others, Dondon is clearly grasping at straws in a desperate effort to evade accountability to the families of the missing sabungeros and the justice system,” it said.

It also said that Patidongan, who is also a co-respondent in the complaints under preliminary investigation, is “the real perpetrator.”

“His false narrative is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shift the blame onto those who had no involvement whatsoever in the alleged crimes,” it added.