A whistleblower at the center of the high-profile case involving 34 missing cockfighting enthusiasts has made explosive new claims that connect police officers implicated in the disappearances to controversial operations during the Duterte administration’s drug war.
In a media briefing held at the National Police Commission (Napolcom) headquarters in Quezon City, whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan, also known as Totoy, alleged that two officers under investigation for their role in the disappearance of the sabungeros had also been involved in past state-sanctioned anti-drug operations marked by violence and secrecy.
Patidongan, once accused of abducting the sabungeros himself, has now turned against his former associates. On Monday, he formally filed a complaint against 12 of the 15 police officers allegedly involved in the case, naming Police Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Jay Orapa and Colonel Jacinto Malinao Jr. among them.
“Back when he was still a major, Orapa was introduced to me by Malinao through their mutual friend, Engineer Celso Salazar,” said Patidongan, speaking in Filipino. He stopped short of detailing the extent of their alleged involvement in previous illegal operations but alluded to a deeper, more systemic pattern of misconduct within law enforcement.
Patidongan’s recent statements have cast a fresh spotlight on the disturbing disappearance of 34 cockfighting bettors, a mystery that has gripped the nation for over a year. Last month, he alleged that the victims were killed and dumped in Taal Lake, their bodies tied with wire and weighed down to sink—grisly claims that sparked a motu proprio investigation by Napolcom Vice Chairperson Rafael Vicente Calinisan.
What’s more alarming is Patidongan’s accusation that the murders were not random acts of violence but contract killings for hire, allegedly involving bribes paid to officers to carry out the abductions and executions. These new claims have deepened public suspicion about the possible involvement of rogue elements in law enforcement with ties to past government crackdowns.
Also named in Patidongan’s accusations were businessman Atong Ang, engineer Celso Salazar, and Eric Dela Rosa—alleged financiers or masterminds behind the disappearances. The Daily Chronicle has reached out to their camps for comment but has yet to receive a response.
Napolcom officials have remained tight-lipped about the progress of the investigation but confirmed that the complaint has been officially lodged and is being reviewed.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups and families of the missing have renewed calls for an independent, transparent investigation free from political interference.
“This is no longer just a case about missing cockfighting fans—it’s about whether the ghosts of past abuses are still haunting today’s justice system,” one human rights advocate told The Daily Chronicle.
As the scandal deepens, more questions arise: Are these disappearances isolated crimes, or part of a broader pattern of extrajudicial violence inherited from the past? And more urgently, will the truth finally surface—or be buried like the men reportedly lost in Taal Lake?
This story is developing.