More tracker teams and intelligence agents were deployed to expedite the arrest of businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang who is the remaining accused to be accounted for in the missing sabungeros case, a top police official said.

Police Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., acting chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said they also strengthened coordination with immigration and other concerned authorities to ensure that Ang will not be able to slip out of the country.

“We already placed ports of exit under heightened monitoring as part of the ongoing manhunt. Dedicated tracker teams and intelligence units have been activated to ensure that no suspect leaves the country while warrants of arrest remain outstanding,” said Nartatez.

According to his legal counsel, Ang is still in the country and authorities said there are no records of the businessman leaving the country.

A Laguna court issued the arrest warrant on Wednesday, Jan. 14, and after a few hours, operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested 17 of the 18 accused.

The remaining accused is Ang and Nartatez said that with the intensified operation to arrest him, there is no option for the businessman but to surrender.

“In the next few days and weeks, we will get him. The most logical option for him is to surrender because the PNP is determined to comply with the arrest warrant issued by the court,” said Nartatez.

“If he is indeed innocent as he has been claiming, the more that he should be encouraged to surrender to face the accusations against him,” he added.

Legal challenge 

Lawyer Gabriel Villareal said the decision of the Laguna court violates Ang’s rights and may be considered constitutionally infirm, citing the Constitution and a case that was already decided by the Supreme Court.

“We will exhaust all available legal remedies to give Mr. Ang the opportunity to challenge the arrest order,” said Villareal.

“Even as we regret that the court has apparently chosen to disregard our plea for fairness and due process, we will continue to avail ourselves of the remedies available to us and comply with the processes of the court,” he added.

Villareal said the arrest warrant issuance is premature and legally questionable since the court failed to meet the constitutional requirements that should have been afforded to his client.

He also hit what he called bias of theDepartment of Justice in building the case against his client by relying solely on the testimony of whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan.

He said that no physical evidence has been presented by the DOJ to link Ang to the case and that only Patidongan’s narrative was used in determining probable cause.

“This case was built on haste and from the beginning there was an intent to use our client as a sacrificial lamb to protect the real mastermind of the crime,” said Villareal.

Commendation

Nartatez also lauded the CIDG for accounting 17 of the 18 accused in the case in just a few hours after the arrest warrant was issued.

“I commend the CIDG for its swift action on the court order. Time is indeed of essence in this case and our personnel were able to prove their dedication to their job,” said Nartatez.

Nine police officers and six civilians implicated in the case have already been placed under CIDG custody. The officers and civilians include former security personnel and employees of cockfighting arenas linked to Ang.