The Philippine National Police Forensic Group (PNP‑FG) received 91 skeletal samples retrieved from the depths of Taal Lake in the continuing search for the 34 cockfighting enthusiasts who have vanished since 2021.
In an interview in Camp Crame on Tuesday, the head of the DNA Laboratory Division of the PNP-FG, PltCol. Edmar Dela Torre said at least six of the 91 samples are believed to be human bones.
According to a report by RH Edniel Parrosa, initial assessments suggest that the bones may include portions of the human hip and lumbar regions.
However, Dela Torre explained that the currently undergoing segregation process may take an additional five to seven days, as some of the samples are suspected to be animal bones, while others are contaminated with mud.
Once the sorting is complete, the Forensic Group will proceed with DNA cross-matching to determine whether the identified human remains belong to any of the 34 'missing sabungeros'.
“Very challenging ito, kasi considering na submerged siya sa tubig. And at the same time, just to give you an idea, we received 91 samples po ng buto. Hindi naman po lahat malalaki — may malalaki, may maliliit,” said Dela Torre.
“Pero it's just to show you kung gaano po ka-challenging itong mga ginagawa namin,” said.
The PNP has so far collected DNA samples from 18 family members of the missing sabungeros, which will be used for comparison.
“Hindi po kami nagbibigay ng false hope sa kanila by saying na madali 'to or mabilis 'to,” he added.
Authorities emphasized that the retrieval efforts are complicated by the fact that the remains were submerged in water for a prolonged period, which can affect the preservation and viability of DNA.
Search and retrieval operations by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and other government agencies are ongoing after whistleblower Julie Patidongan, alias "Totoy," claimed that the remains of the missing cockfighting enthusiasts were dumped in the lake.
