Justice Sec Remulla announces exhumation, recovery of remains linked to e-sabong

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced on Wednesday that authorities are exhuming three bodies from Batangas and recovering remains from Taal Lake as part of the search for missing sabungero participants.

The Philippine Coast Guard found two sacks containing human remains and two sacks with sand acting as weight in Taal Lake, corroborating whistleblower Julie Patidongan's testimony.

Two of the exhumed bodies at Laurel public cemetery were wearing female underwear and a basketball jersey, potentially matching reports of a woman abducted from Lipa in 2020.

Remulla suggested a link between these remains and e-sabong activities, despite some discrepancies with the timeline of reported missing individuals.

The Justice Secretary also mentioned setting up a DNA bank to match retrieved bones with relatives of the missing persons and is cooperating with Japanese Embassy and Interpol officials in the case.