Fugitive gambling magnate Charlie “Atong’’ Ang remains very elusive, running rings around pursuing authorities while travelling in small groups barely escaping arrests in the Calabarzon area, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla disclosed on Thursday, April 16.
Remulla said Ang travels with small groups, maybe three people in town, moving from one place to another every three days.
A little less than two weeks ago, Remulla noted that Ang was spotted somewhere in Region 4-A, but authorities failed to apprehend him coming a bit too late by a day.
Together with authorities, Remulla said that Ang narrowly evaded arrest two weeks ago, initially refusing to name the hideout where the gambling tycoon was spotted when pressed where the botched apprehension occurred.
Following the near arrest, Remulla confirmed the actual report of an “eyeball contact’’ which means Ang was seen in person.
“Immediately, gumawa kami ng follow-up operations. Namintis namin. So ang last report ay nakita siya rito sa Pilipinas. I was personally part of the raiding team. Pumunta ako mismo pero hindi namin siya naabutan (Immediately, we made follow-up operations. We missed him. So the last report was that he was seen here in the Philippines. I was personally part of the raiding team. I went to the location myself but we failed to apprehend him), Remulla said.
Remulla admitted anew that Ang’s influence and strong connections to various government agencies are major stumbling blocks to his capture.
“Pinakamahirap na bahagi ng trabaho ko yung penetration niya sa lahat ng hanay ng gobyerno. Sa dami ng pera niya ang hirap maghanap ngayon ng katiwala na bigyan ka ng solid na trabaho para mahanap siya (The most difficult part of my job is his “penetration’’ in all of the government agencies. With his huge wealth, it is even tougher now for a partner to provide you with solid work),’’ Remulla said.
Ang went missing after a court issued an arrest warrant against him for the cases of the disappearance of cockfighting enthusiasts (sabungeros), kidnapping with serious illegal detention and kidnapping with homicide, which are non-bailable offenses.
The reward for information leading to Ang’s arrest is P20 million.