The missing sabungeros can be found if they are really in the lake.
DOST is willing to help recover the remains of the missing sabungeros if they were really thrown in Taal Lake.
According to the witness, there are hundreds killed and buried in the waters of Taal Lake, not just the 34 cockfighting enthusiasts who went missing four years ago. A whistleblower stepped forward and recently named some of the people allegedly involved in the case.
Businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang is the mastermind, allegedly.
Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla previously shared that the Philippines had asked for technical help from Japan to search for remains. The country is in need of assistance for lakebed mapping and other technology to verify the claims of the witness.
The Department of Science and Technology on Saturday expressed that the agency is willing to lend its expertise and equipment in the search for the remains.
They will be collaborating with the other experts to do this, and DOST Secretary Renato Solidum at the Saturday News Forum added, “May pandagat kami na instrumento na pinondohan ng DOST for marine monitoring—para sa mga isda, mga corals, but we will have to find out kung ‘yung murky conditions ng Taal Lake kaya pa ng ibang mga camera na mayroon.”
Solidum also said that the recovery of their remains is possible if the claims are true, as human bones don’t undergo decomposition. It depends on the location and “oxidizing” content of the lake where the bodies were thrown, if the remains are intact or at a certain level of decomposition.
“Malalim kasi ang lake, mahigit 100 meters yan sa deepest part… So depende. ‘Yung organic matter kasi na lumulubog, siyempre hindi maka-penetrate ang sunlight kaya madilim,” added Solidum.
Taal Lake is home to Taal Volcano, an active volcano. It spans more than 230 square kilometers with a depth of 172 meters in some places.
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