PCG deploys remotely operated vehicle for sabungeros search in Taal Lake

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Tuesday a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is now being used for the search of missing sabungeros or cockfighting enthusiasts in Taal Lake in Batangas.

PCG spokesperson Captain Noemie Guirao-Cayabyab confirmed to GMA News Online the start of the deployment of the ROV for the search and retrieval operations.

Cayabyab said the ROV, which has a light and camera, is expected to expand the monitoring on the lakebed. She added that the ROV has a capability to lift objects up to 10 kg and can last up to four hours underwater, which is longer compared to the 1.5 hours for divers.

The PCG assured over the weekend that search and retrieval operations in Taal Lake were being done meticulously, as the lives of the divers are at risk with their every descent into the waters.

Hyperbaric doctors have been deployed in the area to attend to the divers before and after their operations.

The PCG on Sunday released underwater footage of the operations in the Taal Lake, with divers facing conditions such as murky water, strong underwater currents, and the depth of the lake, among others. Technical divers also attended mass on the shores of the lake prior to the operations.

So far, a total of five sacks with suspected bones have been recovered.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Nicolas Torre III on Monday said some of the recovered bones from the lake were human remains.

"Halu-halo 'no kasi alam niyo naman may farm diyan sa lugar na 'yan. May farm, ang Taal ay farming 'yan. So andiyan na lahat ng makikita natin. May mga na-recover na mga animal remains. May human," Torre said in a press briefing Monday when asked if the police already determined that the bones recovered from Taal Lake were indeed human remains.

(They're mixed because as you know there are farms in the area. Taal [town] is into farming. There are farms there. So everything is there. There were animal remains recovered. There were human bones.)

"Mix-mix na ang ating mga tinitingnan ngayon. Kaya kasama sa ating processing diyan ang mag-differentiate kung ito ba ay animal origin o human origin," he added.

(We're looking at mixed remains. Part of our processing is differentiating if a piece is of animal origin or human origin.)

Some family members of missing sabungeros have already provided DNA specimens for the cross-matching examination.

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.

One of the accused, Julie "Dondon” Patidongan or alias Totoy, 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. — VDV, GMA Integrated News