JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has expressed disappointment with the recent decision of the Manila Regional Trial Court allowing six individuals implicated in the disappearance of six cockfighting enthusiasts, or sabungeros, to post a bail bond for their temporary release.
Remulla questioned the court’s bail order, noting the gravity of the crime, which he likened to mass murder involving a total of 34 victims.
He stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will file a petition for certiorari citing grave abuse of discretion by the judge.
The suspects, Julie Patidongan, Gleer Codilla, Mark Carlo Zabala, Virgilio Bayog, Johnry Consolacion, and Roberto Matillano, Jr., were each granted a P3 million bail, facing six counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges.
Reports suggested the prosecution’s failure to establish necessary elements in the case due to limited witness information.
The charges stemmed from the alleged abduction on January 22, 2022, en route from Tanay, Rizal, to Manila Arena, involving John Claude Inonog, James E. Baccay, Marlon E. Baccay, Rondel F. Cristorum, Mark Joseph L. Velasco, and Rowel G. Gomez, last seen entering a gray van at 7:30 p.m., later discovered abandoned in Barangay Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal.
