The search and retrieval operations for the missing “sabungeros” or cockfight enthusiasts yielded another sack of what is believed to be more remains from the Taal lakebed on Thursday.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Southern Tagalog did not confirm how many more sacks were recovered. RH 15 Jecelle Ricafort reported that one was promptly taken to a Philippine National Police - Scene of the Crime Operations (PNP-SOCO) vehicle on standby.
BREAKING: Panibagong sako ang narekober ng technical divers ng Philippine Coast Guard mula sa Taal Lake
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) July 17, 2025
Hindi pa kinukumpirma ng PCG kung ilan ang nakuhang sako na agad iturn-over sa SOCO. | RH 15 @JecelleRicafort, DZRH News pic.twitter.com/tBL8gDJThx
The PCG declined to provide details following the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) directive that all information and materials related to the search and retrieval operations must be issued by the agency.
They however, revealed a video taken by the remotely operated vehicle (ROV), an underwater robot which captures and transmits live feed to its operator on the surface. The ROV is operated for no more than four hours at a time to ensure the equipment’s optimal performance and the overall operation’s safety.
The DOJ has previously said it requested a sonar ROV from the Japanese government to assist in the operations, which Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla estimated would take six months to complete. The more sophisticated sonar ROV will enable faster detection of possible evidence, reported Ricafort.
Earlier, the PCG’s technical divers proceeded with the operations despite overcast skies, marking its seventh day. Having scoured the first quadrant of the search area, the divers began the second quadrant on Thursday.
The divers concluded today’s search at around 1 p.m., before a minor phreatomagmatic eruption occurred in the Taal Volcano later that afternoon, at 3:01 to 3:13 p.m.
