Sabungero case: Sacks of bones not planted – PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard shot down allegations of planted human remains recovered in Taal Lake, stressing that it would not risk the lives of PCG divers just to conduct an illegal operation.

In an interview over dzBB yesterday, PCG spokesperson Capt. Noemie Cayabyab said that every time their technical divers would go 40 to 60 feet underwater, they put their lives at risk.

“The diving operations of the Philippine Coast Guard at the Taal Lake are part of a legitimate investigation, so we are strictly following the correct process and there is transparency during every step, even before and after (a dive), there are other agencies monitoring the conduct of the operations,” she said.

“The Philippine Coast Guard denies (these insinuations). The purpose of our diving operation is to be able to give justice and find the truth for every family who lost a (loved one). We hope that these speculations would end because in every operation, every dive of the Coast Guard, they put their lives at risk,” the spokesperson added.

Cayabyab highlighted the perils of diving at Taal Lake under the given depths, hence technical divers need to be checked by a hyperbaric doctor before and after their dive to ensure their safety.

Presently, there are 40 divers on site assisting the Department of Justice in locating the remains of missing sabungeros or cockfight enthusiasts believed to be under the lake.

The PCG has so far recovered five sacks but has yet to determine if the bones inside them are human skeletons and if they belonged to the missing cockfight enthusiasts.

Among the challenges PCG previously cited were poor underwater visibility and adherence to a search pattern to ensure coverage.

Recovered sacks have been turned over to the Scene of the Crime Operatives.

Cayabyab said that the Coast Guard ship with the remotely operated vehicle is expected to arrive at the Taal Lake today. The ROV has the capacity to see 1,000 feet underwater, which could help improve the search and retrieval operations.

The ROV is equipped with an operator on the surface, a camera and a clamp that can lift 10 to 12 kilograms.

Cayabyab believed that sending an ROV would be safer compared to sending divers underwater because the machine can better see the water at the lake bed.

Former intel cops

Eleven former intelligence officers currently assigned at the Highway Patrol Group have been relieved and reassigned to the Philippine National Police’s Headquarters Support Service (HSS) at Camp Crame in connection to the missing sabungeros’ case, according to a document seen by The STAR.

Asked whether the 11 are among the 15 policemen earlier placed under restrictive custody, two anonymous police sources said, “possibly.”

Of the 11, the highest ranked officer is a lieutenant colonel, while the others have the rank of major, executive master sergeant, chief master sergeant, master sergeant, staff sergeant and corporal.

Most of the 11 sacked police officers were detailed at intelligence units in various police stations in Laguna and at the provincial police office at Santa Cruz town at the height of the disappearance of the cockfight enthusiasts.

Expert opinion

Meanwhile, PCG Southern Tagalog District commander Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla said they welcome experts’ opinions on how they could better preserve the integrity of the evidence and improve their operations.

He was asked to react to forensic pathologist expert Dr. Raquel Fortun who commented on the alleged mishandling of the evidence. According to Fortun, the sack containing evidence was reportedly opened and placed on the ground.

Tuvilla believed that Fortun was commenting on the first sack found near the shoreline that was not found by the PCG.

“We respect everybody’s opinion. It is good that there are experts giving their opinion, it would make our operations here much better and they are welcome to support us. I believe that ‘no man is an island’ that is why as much as possible we are a team here. Considering the extent of the logistics needed for this operation, even the personnel required, we need many experts. On the part of the Philippine Coast Guard, we are concentrating on the diving operations,” he said.

According to Tuvilla, the sacks of bones that they found underwater contained pebbles that over time might have caused tears in the sacks. They had to place the worn sack inside a secondary sack in order to transfer it and maintain the integrity of what could be evidence in the missing sabungeros’ case.

“I believe that we would be destroying its integrity if we would touch the contents one by one,” he added.

The PCG conducted two dives yesterday morning, but did not find anything.

Following the jackstay search method, wherein a line stretched between two points is used to systematically search an area, Tuvilla said that from the spot where they found the two sacks last Saturday, they moved 10 meters in the northeast direction.

“Initially, in that area it was negative. So we will adjust to another part, we will move again until we cover the entire circumference of the search area,” Tuvilla said.

He said that the poor visibility underwater continues to be the challenge for the divers. — Ed Amoroso