The government dangled a P20-million reward for information leading to the capture of gambling tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang.
If estimates of his earnings from gambling were accurate, Ang probably offered 10 times that amount to evade arrest over the kidnapping and suspected murder of dozens of cockfighting enthusiasts between 2021 and 2022.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, whose department has jurisdiction over the Philippine National Police, announced recently that Ang had slipped out of the country through the southern backdoor and was last seen in Cambodia. This story has been circulating since Ang went missing following his indictment, but Remulla said that this time, it appeared to be true.
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the Bureau of Immigration, which is under his department, has no record of Ang’s departure from the country. But with an arrest warrant for a non-bailable offense, Ang is unlikely to have exited the country through BI-controlled gateways or ports.
He is not the first high-value fugitive to slip out of the country through the backdoor. Alice Guo, the former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, reportedly left the country for Malaysia in July 2024 through a yacht that she boarded in the city of Manila.
At the time, Guo was already wanted for multiple offenses including qualified human trafficking related to Philippine offshore gaming operations in Bamban.
POGO links also led to an arrest warrant for human trafficking for former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who surfaced in the United Arab Emirates in September 2024 and is currently seeking asylum in Europe.
The immigration bureau also has no record of Roque’s departure, but he was reportedly spotted in Tawi-Tawi shortly before he was seen in the UAE.
Guo’s escape by yacht highlighted the porousness of the country’s borders, and the ease of slipping out through unregulated and poorly policed private ports.
The problem persists, not only allowing fugitives to flee but also facilitating the smuggling into the country of all sorts of contraband, from guns to drugs and even motorcycles.
If ever the arm of Philippine law reaches Ang, authorities must determine how he left the country. Those who abetted his escape must also face the harshest penalties.