Kin of missing sabungero offered P1.5M bribe to withdraw charges

Authorities arrested a married couple for attempting to bribe a family member of one of the missing sabungeros to withdraw the complaint filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

According to Emil Sumangil’s Tuesday report on “24 Oras,” the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group nabbed the couple in Rizal during an entrapment operation.

They allegedly tried to bribe Jaja Pilarta, the partner of John Claude Inonog, one of the missing sabungeros who disappeared in 2022.

In a complaint sheet acquired by GMA Integrated News, Pilarta said she was asked to keep quiet, cease from participating in any court hearings related to the missing sabungeros, and retract the complaint she filed against businessman Charlie "Atong" Ang and others.

“Ang gusto po nila, papel ng recantation po 'yon e na finile ko po sa DOJ laban po kina sir Atong Ang. Ang gusto po nila pirmahan ko 'yun tapos manahimik na ako kapalit ng P1.5 million,” Pilarta said.

(They want me to retract the recantation I filed before the DOJ against Atong Ang. They want me to keep quiet in exchange for P1.5 million.)

Based on the information acquired by the GMA Integrated News, the suspects face grave coercion and obstruction of justice charges.

According to a source, they were also relatives of Inonog.

“Ayoko ng areglo since Day 1. Napag-usapan na rin po 'yan noon. Masama 'yung loob ko, siyempre. Ano'ng gusto ba nilang gawin? Gayahin ko 'yung ginawa nila? Kawawa naman 'yung kapatid nila, kawawa naman 'yung anak niya 'di na nga nila mabigyan ng hustisya e. Ako na lang 'yung lumaban,” Pilarta said.

(I never wanted to settlement since Day 1. I already told them that. Of course I’m hurt. What do they want me to do? Do the same thing they did? I sympathize with their brother, who could not get justice. I’m the only one left to fight.)

CCTV footage submitted before the court showed that the couple repeatedly visited Pilarta at her home in their attempts to bribe her.

During the DOJ budget hearing at the House of Representatives, Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said these cases make the investigation more challenging.

“Araw araw may nakukuha tayong human remains sa Taal. Ang DNA lang hindi pa namin napapausad kasi maraming pamilya pa ng missing sabungeros hindi pa nakukunan ng DNA at marami dyan ay nagpabayad na at nawawala na sila,” Remulla said.

(Everyday we retrieve human remains from Taal Lake. However, we cannot move forward with the DNA tests since some family members of the missing sabungeros have yet to take the test, ask for financial compensation, or have disappeared.)

GMA Integrated News is reaching out to the suspects and Ang for comment. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News