(Manila, 14th) — There has been new progress in the high-profile disappearance case of cockfighting enthusiasts in the Philippines that shook the nation four years ago. The Philippine Coast Guard recently conducted an underwater search operation in Taal Lake in southern Luzon Island and retrieved five suspicious bags. Among them, three bags are believed to contain suspected human remains and charred bones. Relevant authorities are conducting further analysis to confirm their identities.
Coast Guard spokesperson Kayaya confirmed in an interview today that this search operation is a critical part of the investigation into the cockfighting disappearance case. Despite the harsh search conditions, divers have continued to undertake challenging recovery work in the muddy areas at the lake bottom.
Taal Lake covers an area of 234 square kilometers and has a depth of nearly 198 meters, equivalent to 60-storey buildings. The vastness and depth of the waters significantly increase the difficulty of the search.
Since the 10th of this month, coast guard personnel have been conducting dive operations. So far, a total of five bags have been recovered, two of which were found to contain suspected charred bones, and another also held suspicious remains. The other two bags contained stones.
According to records, between April 2021 and January 2022, reports of missing cockfighting enthusiasts and related personnel emerged successively in multiple areas of Luzon, Philippines, with at least 34 people unaccounted for. Media reports indicated that some individuals were forcibly taken away at cockfighting arenas, while others were abducted from their homes at gunpoint by unidentified individuals—circumstances described as 'vanishing into thin air.'
Although the Department of Justice arrested several suspects during the investigation, the whereabouts of the missing persons had not been found for four years. Recently, one suspect confessed that some victims had been killed and their bodies dumped in the lake, prompting the police to restart the water search.
A Philippine TV station recently aired a documentary in which a witness claimed to know the exact dumping location, prompting police to expedite the underwater investigation.
Deputy Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office, Castro, also stated last Friday that the government would relentlessly pursue the truth and would not tolerate any concealment or cover-up, vowing to secure justice for all victims and their families.