P10 million reward offered for arrest of Atong Ang

MANILA, Philippines —   Any information that will lead to the arrest of businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang nets a bounty of P10 million, the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced yesterday as the DILG chief tagged the gaming tycoon as the No. 1 most wanted person in the country.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla made the announcement on the reward money, which was pooled a day after a Laguna court issued warrants for the arrest of Ang for kidnapping, serious illegal detention and homicide in connection with the disappearance of cockfighting aficionados or sabungeros.

“Any information leading to the conclusive arrest of Atong Ang will merit a P10-million reward, no questions asked,” Remulla told a news briefing in Quezon City.

According to Remulla, the bounty on Ang is necessary as the gaming tycoon is accused of being the mastermind in the systematic killing of over 100 sabungeros in the past years.

“Atong Ang, we can consider him as the number one most wanted in the Philippines right now,” Remulla said.

He urged Ang to surrender and face the charges in court and prove his innocence, stressing that Ang could not hide forever.

“My advice, surrender now peacefully and we will treat you with respect. If you become a fugitive, then we will treat you like a fugitive,” he said.

Seeking to cripple Ang’s ability to fight back, acting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lt. Gen Jose Melencio Nartatez has approved the revocation of licenses for the six firearms registered under the businessman’s name.

Atong armed and dangerous

Ang’s camp is mandated to surrender the firearms to the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office or he will face charges.

With Ang’s background as a hothead as well as having over 20 armed bodyguards, Remulla said they are considering him armed and dangerous. He recalled Ang physically assaulted a lawmaker following a disagreement at a cockpit arena.

Remulla said Ang has employed active and retired National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents as his security escorts. He was also said to have used corrupt police officers in the murder of sabungeros.

While they believe Ang is still in the country, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said it will ask the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a red notice alert against Ang should he attempt to escape through the backdoor.

CIDG director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II said they have coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration for the issuance of a hold departure order against Ang.

Morico said their tracker teams are monitoring Ang’s properties, which include farms in Batangas and other areas in the Visayas and Mindanao for his whereabouts. Morico said they are not discounting the possibility some of Ang’s properties have underground facilities where he can hide from the authorities.

Four retired police generals are also being investigated for their ties with Ang.

Remulla said the former senior police officers are known as Ang’s close friends who were even present in sabong matches. He warned the former generals to refrain from helping Ang or they could face criminal charges and possible forfeiture of their pension.

“They go out with him; they are always with him and eating out. So we told them to stay away and don’t interfere,” Remulla said.

Police failed to serve arrest warrants against Ang after he was not found in several properties linked to him, authorities said.

On Thursday, police went to two properties of Ang in Mandaluyong City to serve warrants for kidnapping with homicide and kidnapping with serious illegal detention, but he was not there.

On Wednesday, NBI agents also failed to locate Ang at his reported farm in Lipa City, Batangas and in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Members of the CIDG have attempted to serve the arrest warrant at Ang’s residence in Pasig City on Wednesday after Nartatez confirmed the issuance of the warrant. Only one of Ang’s lawyers was present at the property.

Ang is being sought in connection with the high-profile missing sabungeros case. Authorities earlier arrested 10 police officers and seven civilians who are also accused in the case.

Still in Philippines

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it is confident that Ang, now considered a “fugitive from justice,” is still in the country and that the cases filed against him and his co-accused were strong enough to secure conviction.

“The government is confident that based on all the available records that we have, Mr. Atong Ang is still in the country,” acting Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said in a press briefing yesterday.

Vida cited a confirmation by the Bureau of Investigation that there is no record or indication showing that Ang has already left the country.

Vida made the statement as law enforcement agencies have yet to arrest Ang, following the Santa Cruz, Laguna Regional Trial Court Branch 26’s issuance of arrest warrants against him and his 17 co-accused for non-bailable cases of kidnapping with homicide and kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the disappearance of sabungeros.

All the 17 co-accused of Ang in the cases before the Santa Cruz RTC were already arrested as of Wednesday.

A total of 10 counts of kidnapping with homicide and 16 counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention were already filed by the DOJ panel of prosecutors against Ang and several individuals before the RTCs of Santa Cruz, Lipa City, Batangas and San Pablo, Laguna in connection with the alleged abduction and killing of the cockfight enthusiasts.

As of now, only the Santa Cruz RTC has issued arrest warrants.

The cases against Ang and his co-accused stemmed from the disappearance of several cockfight enthusiasts in 2022.

Investigation on the case appeared to be going nowhere, until whistleblower Julie “Don-Don” Patidongan came out to the media, and later, to the DOJ early last year, testifying that Ang was the mastermind behind the disappearance and murder of over 100 cockfight enthusiasts.

Patidongan said the sabungeros were strangled for allegedly cheating in cockfight games. Patidongan said the bodies of the sabungeros were dumped in Taal Lake.

Patidongan is one of six security guards of the cockpit Manila Arena, who were held as suspects for the disappearance of the sabungeros in 2022. Patidongan said threats to his family prompted him to come out to tell everything that he knew about the case.

Lawmakers monitoring case

The House committee on public order and safety will use its oversight functions to closely monitor the missing sabungeros case, Manila second district Rep. Rolando Valeriano said yesterday.

“It is not enough that the suspects are arrested. There must be final conviction. There have been cases before, other controversial cases. But they collapsed during trial,” Valeriano said.

“I believe sloppy investigations and flawed cases led to failure of justice in those cases, so I hope these missing sabungeros cases will not implode during preliminary investigation and trial,” he added.

Valeriano called on the DOJ to make sure that these cases filed against Ang do not get dismissed because of technicalities, wrong charges, vanishing witnesses, broken chain of custody and weak evidence. –  Mark Ernest Villeza, Jose Rodel Clapano, Elizabeth Marcelo