Palace orders swift arrest of Atong Ang, others in missing sabungeros case

Malacañang on Wednesday directed law enforcers to immediately serve the arrest warrant against businessman Atong Ang and 17 other individuals in connection with a kidnapping with homicide case involving the missing sabungeros.

At a Palace press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said members of the country’s law enforcement agencies are fully aware of their legal mandate to implement arrest warrants.

“’Yan naman po lagi ang mandato ng PNP at ng ating law enforcement agencies. Alam po nila ’yan—ang utos ng Pangulo ay ipatupad kung ano ang nasa batas,” Castro said.

(That has always been the mandate of the PNP and other law enforcement agencies. The President’s directive is to implement what is provided under the law.)

Castro made the statement in response to the issuance of arrest warrants by a Regional Trial Court in Laguna against Ang and his co-accused in the missing sabungeros case.

She said the PNP and other law enforcement units should waste no time in implementing the court order.

“Kung nandiyan na po ang warrant of arrest, mas pabilisin po ang pagtatrabaho para mapanagot ang dapat mapanagot,” Castro added.

(If the warrant of arrest has already been issued, they should act swiftly to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.)

The Regional Trial Court Branch 26 issued the warrants after finding probable cause in the criminal charges against the accused, whose listed addresses are in parts of Muntinlupa City, Laguna, and Batangas.

The warrant states that the accused are charged with kidnapping with homicide, an offense for which bail is expressly denied due to the gravity of the crime.

The court also directed law enforcers to strictly observe the rules on the use of body-worn cameras during the execution of the warrant, requiring at least one body camera and an alternative recording device to document the arrest process.

The arrest warrant was signed by Presiding Judge Mary Jean Cajandab-Ong and furnished to the Philippine National Police–Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (PNP-DIDM) and the concerned police station commander for immediate implementation.—MCG, GMA Integrated News