PCG starts dive search in Taal Lake for missing sabungeros

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday started diving in Taal Lake in Batangas to search for the missing sabungeros or cockfighting enthusiasts after a sack of bones was recovered in the area on Thursday.

“Nag-start na po (It already started),” PCG spokesperson Captain Noemie Guirao-Cayabyab told GMA News Online in a text message at 8:22 a.m. 

Cayabyab said the search and retrieval operations will start from the identified locations in the lake.

“Meron nang ginawang search plan ang ating mga technical divers. So, meron silang search pattern ng 100 meters by 100 meters,” Cayabyab told GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita in an interview.

(Our technical divers have already made a search plan, so they have a search pattern of 100 meters by 100 meters.)

“From the identified location na ibinigay sa atin ng lead agency, doon tututok ang ating mga technical divers. It can be a seaward or leeward so posibleng from the shoreline to the possible area ang magiging diving operation po natin,” she added.

(From the identified location given to us by the lead agency, that’s where our technical divers will focus. It can be seaward or leeward, so it’s possible that our diving operation will be from the shoreline to the possible area.)

In an update, the PCG said three groups of technical wreck divers will work on the search and retrieval operations.

The divers will focus on the site 100 to 270 meters from the shore, according to the PCG.

These divers were already deployed to separate dive points 52 to 72 feet away from the shoreline of Barangay Balakilong in Laurel town. A total of 13 divers in the first wave reached depths ranging from 16 to 21.8 meters. 

All teams have temporarily secured operations as of 9:20 a.m. and they're trying their second dive within the day.

Now, a total of 36 technical wreck divers among 49 divers have been deployed since the search and retrieval operations started.

On Thursday, the PCG conducted an assessment on the site for the search. According to Cayabyab, the water in the area is murky.

Authorities also looked into the “fishpond lease” of one of the suspects in the investigation, which is considered the “ground zero” of the search operation.

A sack containing bones was recovered at the side of Taal Lake in the town of Laurel. The bones were found near the location where whistleblower and co-accused Julie "Dondon" Patidongan claimed the missing sabungeros were transported before being dumped in the lake.

The bones will undergo forensic examination to determine whether the remains belong to humans.

DNA testing will also be conducted to determine if there is a match with any of the families of the missing sabungeros.

''This discovery could represent a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation. While we proceed with caution and diligence, it offers renewed hope that we are closer to uncovering the truth and securing justice for the families of the missing,'' the DOJ said in a statement on Thursday.

Among the challenges the searchers may face are the possible bad weather and strong current as well as the threat of the low-level unrest of Taal Volcano.

Alert Level 1 is raised over Taal Volcano, which means the volcano is in an abnormal condition and should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.

Under Alert Level 1, the possible hazards are sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas.

A total of 34 cockfighting enthusiasts have been reported missing from 2021 to 2022. According to the police, the missing personalities were kidnapped allegedly due to match fixing or cheating in the cockfighting games.

Patidongan claimed that the victims were already buried in Taal Lake.

He named businessman Atong Ang as a mastermind in the case and also linked actress Gretchen Barretto to the disappearances.

Both have denied the allegations. —VAL, GMA Integrated News