Two composite sketches of suspects allegedly behind the abduction and disappearance of some cockfighting enthusiasts or sabungeros in Laguna have been released by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on Thursday.
CIDG chief Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee said the release of the composite sketches is a follow-up to the continuous investigation that the CIDG obtained from a phone video of two policemen suspects and a missing sabungero. The video showed them outside a cockfighting arena in Santa Cruz on April 28, 2021.
“Based on the ‘secret’ cellphone video showing two men and a handcuffed missing sabungero walking outside a cockfighting arena in Santa Cruz, Laguna, on April 28, 2021, we now hold vital evidence on our probe in the disappearance of the said sabungeros,” Lee said in a news statement.
In a meeting with the CIDG chief, the handcuffed man was positively identified by his wife and brother as Michael Bautista, one of the 34 missing cockfighting aficionados as they recognized him from his haircut, body build and personal belongings.
Lee has directed the CIDG Regional Field Unit 4A to take the formal statements of the wife and brother of Bautista as part of their ongoing investigation.
With the video on hand and through the computerized facial composites of the suspects, CIDG spokesperson Major Mae Ann Cunanan said they now have leads on the identity of the two suspects, while enhancement of the said cellphone video is ongoing at the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group.
“The video has not been enhanced yet but this one proves with facial recognition and identification. We are looking at something that these could be the suspects and we will head in the direction…So we will hand over the video to ACG to enhance the raw video so that the result of the facial composite will be better, but since it is still a raw video, we have obtained this composition and it will also help in the investigation about the missing sabungero,” Cunanan told reporters in a news briefing at Camp Crame in Filipino.
A criminal complaint against the suspects is currently being prepared for filing before the Department of Justice.
“As soon as I assumed the position of Director of CIDG, one of my priorities was the continuous investigation of the missing victims. Hindi natin ito nilubayan o isinantabi, ang CIDG ay patuloy na naghahanap ng mga ebidensiyang at mga saksi na makakatulong sa paglutas ng insidenteng ito,”Lee stressed.
All of the missing sabungeros remain unaccounted for.
Reports said their abduction and disappearance was allegedly a part of the crackdown of online cockfighting operators against those who are suspected to be engaged in game fixing.