Missing Sabungeros Case: Only One Complainant Attends Hearings

There is one complainant left who continues to attend the hearings in the case of the missing sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts) after other families were allegedly paid off. In a "24 Oras" report from Emil Sumangil on Thursday, Charlene Lasco, the sister of the missing master agent Ricardo “Jonjon” Lasco Jr., is the lone attendee at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court where the case of the missing sabungeros is being heard. Jonjon Lasco was seen on CCTV footage being abducted in San Pablo, Laguna in August 2021. Whistleblower Julie "Dondon" Patidongan admitted to being the one who paid P2 million to a group to kidnap Jonjon Lasco. Now, Charlene Lasco said that she could no longer contact her colleagues who vowed to seek justice for their missing loved ones. “Gusto ko lang kung magsabi sa mga kasamahan namin na, nakakalungkot na umalis kayo… akala ko tuloy-tuloy yung paglaban namin, pagkuha namin ng hustisya pero wala eh, talagang... siyempre, talagang kailangan naman nila ng pera,” Charlene Lasco said. (I just want to say to our colleagues that it is sad that you left… I thought that the fight would continue, that we will try to get justice but of course… they really need the money.) Charlene Lasco said she heard rumors that the other families of the missing sabungeros were paid off, with some of them directly telling her. Charlene Lasco herself has received offers to abandon the case, but said that it was not money that she needed, but justice. “Yung aming mga kasamahan, ito ang sinasabi, na kapag na-areglo na sila, susuko si Mr. Atong Ang, magpapakulong ng sandali, pagkatapos, lalabas, magbi-bail, tapos na ang kaso,” Charlene Lasco said. (Some of our colleagues, this is what they said, that once they reach an arrangement. Mr. Atong Ang will surrender, he will be imprisoned for a bit, and then after, he will get out after posting bail and then the case is done.) A few sources from law enforcement agencies told GMA News that there is news that Ang’s camp is trying to connect with them to surrender. However the Philippine National Police (PNP) said that they have not received any word from Ang. "The PNP has not received any formal communication or feelers of surrender from Atong Ang or his representatives. Beyond that, operational matters of this nature are not something we can discuss publicly, as doing so may compromise ongoing efforts to serve the warrant of arrest,” PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Allen Rae Co said. Charlene Lasco said she hoped that the government’s case would still stand because of Patidongan. “Sana yung gobyerno, makuha ang puno’t dulo kung bakit nawawala yung mga complainant,” Charlene Lasco said. (I hope that the government will get to the source of why the complainants are disappearing.) —Jean Mangaluz/LDF, GMA News