Abante seeks House probe into missing sabungeros’ case

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives must investigate the issue of ‘missing sabungeros’ (cockfighters) amid the latest allegations from a whistleblower, including the possibility that death squads in the drug war are also involved, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. File photo / from Benny Abante FB Page

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives must investigate the case of ‘missing sabungeros’ (cockfighters) amid the latest allegations raised by a whistleblower, including the possibility that death squads in the war on drugs are also involved, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said on Tuesday.

Abante, who chaired the House committee on human rights during the 19th Congress, filed House Resolution (HR) No. 53, which asks the appropriate panel to check on the latest developments regarding the ‘missing sabungeros’ case.

According to Abante, the disappearance and possible death of these cockfighting enthusiasts are no different from the extrajudicial killings (EJK) issue that the House quad committee probed in 2024.

“The disappearance of the ‘missing sabungeros’ is no different from the extrajudicial killings in the fight against illegal drugs, a clear violation of human rights which is no longer just about gambling but about justice, accountability, the rule of law, and blatant disrespect of and disregard to the value and dignity of human life,” the lawmaker said in HR No. 53.

“The families of the pitiful victims continue to cry for justice, as are the victims of extrajudicial killings […] these detestable disappearances and supposed killings [are] undeniably the result of e-sabong motivated only by greed and corruption,” he added.

Also, Abante said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s revelation that there may be a connection between perpetrators of the drug war and e-sabong killings should prompt the reconvening of the House quad committee in the 20th Congress.

Abante, one of the co-chairs of the quad committee, said last July 9 that the super panel would reconvene in the 20th Congress.

READ: Quad comm in 20th Congress? Definitely, says Abante 

“You know, to be honest, that’s very revealing, so the fact that the Justice Secretary said this, we can see a reason to reconvene the quad comm to investigate these things because if there is a connection with the war on drugs, the quad comm should address and end all these scenarios,” he said.

In 2022, the Senate launched an investigation into the ‘missing sabungeros’ case, particularly of Ricardo Lasco, a master agent of e-sabong (online cockfighting) who was kidnapped by more or less 10 armed men in his residence in San Pablo, Laguna on August 30, 2021.

Lasco was one of the over 30 cockfight enthusiasts who went missing during the same period.

According to witnesses, at least five police officers were behind the abduction of the master agent.  Four women during the hearing of the Senate committee on public order identified the two officers in their testimony.

READ: Kin face cops accused of abducting e-sabong agent 

The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) said back then that it was preparing appropriate charges against five policemen.  However, developments stalled after not much evidence was discovered by the authorities.

Fresh information, however, surfaced in the middle of 2025 when whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan (alias Totoy) said that two of the police officers allegedly involved in the case of 34 ‘missing sabungeros’ were also linked to the previous administration’s war on drugs.

READ: Whistleblower claims cops in ‘sabungeros’ case tied to Duterte drug war 

Patidongan was one of the six security guards accused of abducting the cockfighting enthusiasts.  He recently came out in public to identify the involvement of several personalities, while claiming that the 34 missing sabungeros were buried in Taal Lake, Batangas.

The whistleblower also claimed that they used a tie wire to purportedly strangle the victims before dumping their bodies into the lake.

After Philippine Coast Guard divers found five sacks with suspected human bones in Taal Lake, PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III said on Monday that they found human remains among the bones that were recovered.

READ: PNP: Human remains found among bones retrieved from Taal Lake 

Earlier, Remulla appealed for patience as the search for the ‘missing sabungeros’  will likely continue for six months./coa