PNP: Ex-cops in missing sabungero case not cooperating

MANILA, Philippines — Three former police officers tagged in the kidnapping of an online cockfighting agent are not cooperating in the ongoing investigation of the case, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

Quoting investigators, PNP public information chief Col. Redrico Maranan said former patrolman Rigel Brosas and corporals Daryl Paghangaan and Roy Navarette have yet to give information that may  lead to the resolution of the case.

The accused – who had arrest warrants for robbery, kidnapping and serious illegal detention – surrendered to authorities last week.

Maranan said the PNP was hoping the three would reveal the mastermind in the disappearance of online cockfighting agent Ricardo Lasco.

Lasco was kidnapped from his house in San Pablo, Laguna in August 2021 by men posing as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.  He was among 34 cockfighting enthusiasts, who remain missing since 2021.

Brosas, Navarete and Paghangaan denied involvement in the kidnapping. They were dismissed from the service in December along with two others, identified as Michael Claveria and Henry Sasaluya, after the PNP-Internal Affairs Service found them guilty of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.