The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported ten more sabungeros or cockfight enthusiasts from Bulacan went missing. This was in addition to the ten who also went missing in Laguna and Manila.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) intensified its investigation into the disappearance of the sabungeros.
“The plot thickens when ten men from Bulacan who were engaged in a cockfight are added to the list of missing individuals. Their kin said that it had been more than eight months now since their disappearance,” the PNP said.
According to the initial reports of the PNP, four men went missing after attending a cockfight game in Sta. Cruz on January 13.
“CCTV footage from the arena showed that the vehicle used by the victims was seen exiting the coliseum, but it was not clear if the victims were inside the vehicle,” it said.
Six men also disappeared after a cockfighting tournament in Manila on the same day.
PNP chief Police General Dionardo Carlos said there is a pattern in the incidents.
“The CIDG is now connecting the dots. These incidents do have a lot in common. We will find out if there is a syndicate behind these cases,” Carlos said.
The CIDG asked the cockpit owners to investigate to resolve the case of missing sabungeros.
COVID-19 challenge intensifies in provinces
After new COVID-19 cases peaked in the National Capital Region (NCR), the challenge intensified in the provinces, which in turn are experiencing increasing numbers of infected with the disease.
“Ang laban talaga ngayon nasa provinces, kasi marami sa provinces ay less ang vaccination coverage at less ang health care capacity,” said Jomar Rabajante of University of the Philippines Pandemic Response Team.
According to Rabajante, they are focusing on the Cordillera Administrative Region and Bicol Region, where intensive care units (ICUs) have increased.
In Bangsamoro, which has the lowest COVID-19 vaccination coverage, 86 percent of ICU beds are already occupied.
The ICU occupancy of Davao Region and Soccsksargen also increased.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), based on the latest batch of genome sequencing, out of 677 samples, 618 were confirmed to be affected by the omicron variant.
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