Human ribs found in Taal Lake amid search for sabungeros — DOJ's Remulla

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Thursday authorities recovered what appeared to be human ribs from Taal Lake, where 34 missing sabungeros or cockfight enthusiasts were allegedly dumped.

According to Remulla, four sacks were recovered during operation on Thursday, two of which contained alleged bones while the other two contained sand. 

"May nahanap today sa Taal Lake na human remains in the area pointed to us by our sources that were also identified by… alias Totoy," Remulla said in a briefing.

(Some human remains were found today in Taal Lake in the area pointed to us by our sources that were also identified by… alias Totoy.)

"This time in the specific area, in the quadrant— kasi ano 'yan dini-divide by quadrant 'yan. In the specific quadrant pointed out to us as a site where people are being disposed of may nahanap na remains," he added.

(This time in the specific area, in the quadrant— because that's divided by quadrant. In the specific quadrant pointed out to us as a site where people are being disposed of, some remains were found.)

He said a cursory examination showed the bones to be "human ribs."

However, he clarified that the bones will still undergo forensic examination. 

Authorities started searching Taal Lake last week for the remains of the missing sabungeros. This came after whistleblower Julie "Dondon" Patidongan claimed that sabungeros were abducted, killed, and then dumped at Taal Lake.

Remulla said the recent discovery is a "positive indication" that Patidongan knew what he was talking about.

Human origin

PNP Forensic Group's DNA Laboratory Division chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Edmar dela Torre said that six out of the 91 bones recovered from Taal Lake were suspected of human origin.

"Ninety one po 'yung na-receive namin. Plus po, six po 'yung suspected namin na of human origin. And 'yun po 'yung inuuna po namin," Dela Torre told GMA Integrated News' Unang Balita in an interview.

(We received 91 bones, six of which are suspected to be of human origin. And those are what we are processing first.)

According to Dela Torre, the forensic team is prioritizing to obtain DNA profiles from the recovered human bones so crossmatching can be conducted with the samples from the families of the missing sabungeros.

"Ang hinihintay natin is maka-generate muna tayo ng DNA profile. Kapag hindi po tayo naka-generate ng DNA profile, wala rin pong silbi na i-process natin 'yung sa relative," Dela Torre said.

(What we are waiting for is for us to generate DNA profiles first from the recovered bones. If we are not able to generate DNA profiles, there is no point for us to process the relatives' samples.)

Exhumed bodies

Meanwhile, Remulla clarified that the three bodies exhumed on Wednesday from a public cemetery in Laurel, Batangas near Taal Lake seemed to be connected to e-sabong. He said the operation stemmed from information from sources.

Remulla affirmed that there are other individuals linked to e-sabong who went missing aside from the 34 reported individuals.

"Mukhang e-sabong ito eh, 'yung tatlong ito, kasi sa Lipa nawala," he said.

(It looks like this is related to e-sabong, these three, because they disappeared in Lipa.)

Taal eruption

The Justice secretary said one of the three bodies appeared to be female as authorities also recovered female underwear from the site. He said Patidongan recalled an incident where a woman went missing in Lipa.

Meanwhile, another body seemed to be wearing a basketball uniform. Remulla expressed hope that DNA may still be taken from the bodies.

When asked if the search operations will be halted due to the minor eruptive events at Taal Volcano, Remulla said, "Well, pag hindi healthy—, kung ito ay magiging balikad sa health ng tao tigil muna. PHIVOLCS will advise us kung ano, kung safe or hindi," he said.

(Well, if it's not healthy—if this will be detrimental to people's health, then we stop for now. PHIVOLCS will advise us on what to do, whether it's safe or not.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News