Taal Lake search for missing sabungeros resumes; local fishers take hit
According to Vonne Aquino's '24 Oras' report, PCG technical divers continued with the operations early Sunday but were forced to halt due to sudden downpour. They used a remotely-operating vehicle and an aerial drone to further inspect the search area but yielded no suspicious objects.
The local government of Agoncillo, Batangas said the discovery of human remains in the lake—after whistleblower Julie "Dondon" Patidongan pointed to it as the site where the missing sabungeros' bodies were dumped—is affecting the small-scale fisherfolk in the municipality, with public fear driving down demand for tawilis.
'Halos 40% ang binaba ng harvest ng tawilis. Kung konti ang demand, konti rin ang magiging supply,' said Mayor Cinderella Reyes.
(The harvest went down by almost 40%. If there is less supply, then there is less demand.)
In the town of Talisay, Batangas, fewer fish vendors are selling tawilis, increasing the prices from P80 per kilo to P100 per kilo. Municipal administrator Alfredo Anciato said they are mulling declaring a state of calamity to extend assistance to the affected fishers.
'Sa ngayon, kinukuha namin ang lahat ng data through our municipal agriculture office. Tinatanong namin ang stakeholders kung ano ang epekto sa aming maliliit na mangingisda,' Anciato added.
(We are now gathering all data through our municipal agriculture office. We are also asking our stakeholders of the effect to the fisherfolks.)
Batangas Governor Vilma Santos, for her part, took to social media to allay fears and to show the public it is safe to consume tawilis.
'Tawilis. Okay. Nothing to worry. With all these issues about our Taal, nothing to worry. Ang Tawilis ay non-carnivorous. Di kumakain ng laman, usually halaman ang kinakain nito,' said Santos.
(Nothing to worry. With all these issues about our Taal, nothing to worry. Tawilis are non-carnivorous and they eat plants.)
Meanwhile, the Agoncillo municipal government said it is also eyeing the declaration of a state of calamity to repair roads affected by the recent typhoons. — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA Integrated News
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Taal Lake search for missing sabungeros resumes; local fishers take hit
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has resumed its search for the missing sabungeros in Taal Lake after operations were suspended due to inclement weather. According to Vonne Aquino's '24 Oras' report, PCG technical divers continued with the operations early Sunday but were forced to halt due to sudden downpour. They used a remotely-operating vehicle and an aerial drone to further inspect the search area but yielded no suspicious objects. The local government of Agoncillo, Batangas said the discovery of human remains in the lake—after whistleblower Julie "Dondon" Patidongan pointed to it as the site where the missing sabungeros' bodies were dumped—is affecting the small-scale fisherfolk in the municipality, with public fear driving down demand for tawilis. 'Halos 40% ang binaba ng harvest ng tawilis. Kung konti ang demand, konti rin ang magiging supply,' said Mayor Cinderella Reyes. (The harvest went down by almost 40%. If there is less supply, then there is less demand.) In the town of Talisay, Batangas, fewer fish vendors are selling tawilis, increasing the prices from P80 per kilo to P100 per kilo. Municipal administrator Alfredo Anciato said they are mulling declaring a state of calamity to extend assistance to the affected fishers. 'Sa ngayon, kinukuha namin ang lahat ng data through our municipal agriculture office. Tinatanong namin ang stakeholders kung ano ang epekto sa aming maliliit na mangingisda,' Anciato added. (We are now gathering all data through our municipal agriculture office. We are also asking our stakeholders of the effect to the fisherfolks.) Batangas Governor Vilma Santos, for her part, took to social media to allay fears and to show the public it is safe to consume tawilis. 'Tawilis. Okay. Nothing to worry. With all these issues about our Taal, nothing to worry. Ang Tawilis ay non-carnivorous. Di kumakain ng laman, usually halaman ang kinakain nito,' said Santos. (Nothing to worry. With all these issues about our Taal, nothing to worry. Tawilis are non-carnivorous and they eat plants.) Meanwhile, the Agoncillo municipal government said it is also eyeing the declaration of a state of calamity to repair roads affected by the recent typhoons. — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA Integrated News
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The bodies that were recovered in a public cemetery in Laurel, Batangas on Wednesday had gunshot wounds to the head, a manager of a funeral parlor in the town said as authorities continue to look for the bodies of the missing sabungeros. According to Ian Cruz's report in '24 Oras' on Thursday, the bodies exhumed from the cemetery originated from Dacolo Funeral Services. The manager of the funeral parlor said that the bodies were retrieved in different months from the boundary of the towns of Laurel, Calaca, and Lemery. This was after they were reported to the police, he added. ''Yun nga po, sir, mga tapon lang po tapos may mga tama ng baril [...] laging ulo,' said Jonel Dacolo, manager of Dacolo Funeral Services. (These bodies were just dumped out there and bore gunshot wounds [...] It's always to the head.) Dacolo also said some of the bodies had their hands tied up. However, the funeral parlor said they already forgot what year they received the bodies and that they don't have records. 'Ano pong ire-record ko? Walang ID, walang tattoo, ang mukha pagang-paga na, hindi na makilala, bulok na. Wala po talaga. Tapos lagi pong lahat ay naka-brief lang,' said Dacolo. (What will I record? There's no ID, no tattoos, their faces are beyond unrecognizable and the bodies were decomposed. There's no way to identify these. They were also found only in their underwear.) After no family members claimed the bodies, Dacolo said he sought the police's permission to already bury them. ''Pag halimbawa po na natagal na sa akin ng three days at wala po talagang pagkakakilanlan, tatawag ako sa PNP na kung pwedeng ipalibing na at kung may magke-claim po ay pwede po ipahukay. Ako po ay kanilang pinayagan na mailibing po,' said Dacolo. (For example, if the bodies are already with me for three days and no one has yet claimed them, I called the police and asked if I can already bury them and if someone shows up to claim them, I can just exhume them. The police gave me permission to bury them.) GMA Integrated News requested the police for a copy of the records of the buried bodies. However, the local police chief refused to be interviewed, claiming he does not have the authority to speak on the matter. The local Office of the Civil Registry was supposed to have the records of the retrieved bodies. Unfortunately, these were damaged during a flood brought by Typhoon Kristine last year, the report said. Based on the description given by the funeral parlor and with the help of the residents, GMA Integrated News visited one of the sites where one of the bodies was found. The tri-boundary of the towns of Calaca, Laurel, and Lemery is an area known to locals as a dumping ground for garbage as there is a cliff on the side of the road. The said stretch is also very dark at night due to the absence of street lights, the report said. One resident shared with GMA Integrated News that several bodies have been found beneath the cliff, adding that one body was recovered in the first quarter of the year. He also said that he saw three to four bodies in the area from 2021 to 2022. But the resident said that he's not certain if these bodies are connected with the case of the missing sabungeros. 'Ayan yung mga binabaril lang na parang pinagbibintangan na mga adik,' said 'Alias Lando'. (I think these were shot because they were mistaken for being drug addicts.) Links to e-sabong Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Thursday that the three bodies recovered from a public cemetery in Laurel, Batangas floated in Taal Lake in 2020. According to a report in '24 Oras,' the bodies exhumed could be linked to e-sabong but these are different from the case of the missing sabungeros. Remulla added that there were three reported missing persons in Lipa City in 2020 and one of them was female. And one of the retrieved bodies in the cemetery could possibly belong to a woman, he added. 'Mukhang e-sabong 'to, yung tatlo kasi sa Lipa nawala,' said Remulla. (This seems linked to e-sabong, because there were three missing persons in Lipa.) 'Kasama sa pahayag niya (Patidongan) 'yan na in Lipa, there was a pregnant woman. Parang 'yun ang nakikita naming possibility…. Mayroon pang telltale signs but I cannot reveal to you now. But there was a telltale sign where he said that maybe, that is probably the people who were picked up and killed in Lipa,' he also said. (He mentioned about Lipa and that there was a pregnant woman. That's the possibility we are looking at….There are other telltale signs but I cannot reveal that to you now. But there was a telltale sign where he said that maybe, that is probably the people who were picked up and killed in Lipa.) The Justice Dept. is hoping that more DNA samples could be extracted from the bodies for them to conduct tracking. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News
