THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it is ready to provide its forensic expertise in the case of cockfighting enthusiasts (“missing sabungeros”) who went missing from 2021 to 2022, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said on Monday.
According to Santiago, they are ready to help and volunteer if their forensic expertise is needed.
A suspect and supposedly the case whistleblower, Julie “Dondon” Patidongan or “alias Totoy,” recently said that the bodies of the 34 missing sabungeros were buried in Taal Lake.
Because of this, the Philippine government requested Japan for technical assistance.
Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology also said that the agency is also ready to provide its expertise and equipment in the search for the victims.
“Alias Totoy” named businessman Atong Ang as the mastermind in the case and also implicated actress Gretchen Barretto.
The two strongly denied the allegations against them and Ang said that Patidongan threatened to implicate him in the disappearance of the sabungeros if he refused to give P300 million while Barretto also received the same threat.