15 cops held over alleged killings of cockfighting fans

Foul play: A file photo of roosters squaring off during a cockfight at the World Slasher Cup 2022 in Manila. The missing cockfighting aficionados and workers were accused of cheating by discreetly weakening one rooster or diminishing its chances of winning, including by slightly injuring it, then betting on the other rooster. — AFP

FIFTEEN police officers have been taken into custody and are being investigated for their alleged role in the abductions and feared killings of at least 34 cockfighting fans.

The missing people were accused of cheating in the hugely popular sport, with their bodies reportedly dumped in a scenic lake with a restive volcano.

The victims went missing around 2021 and 2022, mostly while on their way to or from cockfighting arenas dotting the main northern Philippine region of Luzon.

The unresolved disappearances again drew public attention after a key witness recently surfaced and accused his former employer, a gambling tycoon, of masterminding the killings, with bodies reportedly dumped in Taal Lake south of Manila or burned elsewhere.

National police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III said in a news conference on Monday that a key witness, who used the alias “Totoy”, provided crucial details: the cockfighting aficionados and workers were strangled and mutilated before being dumped.

Police investigators have corroborated the details and evidence, which will be used in crimi­nal complaints to be filed by the Department of Justice against the suspects, he said.

The witness, who is now under police guard, has told local television networks that he decided to speak out because his former employer was allegedly threatening to have him killed.

He said he wanted to help ease the agony of families of the victims who had been demanding justice for their missing kin.

Criminal complaints will be filed against the influential businessman, who owns cockfighting arenas and other gambling businesses, and other suspects, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said. The businessman has denied the allegations.

Remulla said he would ask Japan to help provide technology to help look for traces of the remains of the victims.

The missing cockfighting aficionados and workers were accused of cheating by discreetly weakening one rooster or diminishing its chances of winning, including by slightly injuring it, then betting on the other rooster. — AP