Police forensic experts are now facing a huge task of building DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) profiles from the human bones recovered from Taal Lake in Batangas, as they work to match them with DNA samples collected from relatives of missing cockfighters or sabungeros.
Lt. Col. Edmar de la Torre, officer-in-charge of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Forensics Group’s DNA Laboratory Division, said they were able to sort out six pieces of human bone from the 91 samples taken from the lake.
“We are facing challenges in generating DNA samples or profiles because they have been submerged for a long time. If the samples were submerged for that long time, it would be difficult to generate a DNA profile,” said de la Torre in a television interview.
He was referring to claims by a witness that the cadavers had been dumped into the lake four years ago.
Another challenge, he said, is that the remains were submerged in lake water with sulphur content, which further complicates DNA extraction.
The PNP’s forensics team has already collected 18 DNA samples from relatives of the missing cockfighters. However, de la Torre admitted that these samples are not usable if they fail to generate a DNA profile from the recovered bones, as they are needed for matching process for identification.
It takes five to seven days to generate a DNA profile from remains, and the prolonged submersion and sulphur exposure would make the entire process challenging, according to de la Torre.
The case of missing sabungeros made headlines anew following the revelations made by Julie Patidongan, who used the alias “Totoy,” when he disclosed information about the missing cockfighters.
Patidongan tagged at least 18 policemen and named several personalities, including Atong Ang and retired police general Jonnel Estomo.
Both Ang and Estomo denied the allegations. Ang already filed a case against Patidongan, while Estomo said he is consulting his lawyers for the filing of a case. (Aaron Recuenco)
