ANG WELCOMES CHARGES – LAWYER

A LAWYER  of Charlie “Atong” Ang on Sunday said they welcome the formal filing of cases against his client as an opportunity for the businessman-sportsman to address in an appropriate legal forum  the accusations hurled against him.

Attorney Gabriel L. Villareal,  Ang’s counsel, maintains his client’s innocence and cautions against  Julie “Dondon” Patidongan’s testimony, which he describes as flawed, self-serving and unsubstantiated.

Villareal expressed sympathy for the victims’ families and admiration for their persistence in the search for truth and justice. He urged them to look behind and beyond Patidongan’s sudden  “awakening” and his timing. 

According to the lawyer, Patidongan was employed in the Ang organization for 15 years.

“He is a master manipulator and will readily elbow out and eliminate anyone who might come near or threaten his position and access to Mr. Ang,” the lawyer said.

“It is lamentable though that the public is being deceived by the wolf in sheep’s clothing, and being the master manipulator that he is, has embedded himself amongst the victims of the tragedy that he himself has perpetrated,” Ang’s legal counsel added.

According to Villareal, Patidongan’s story is a fabrication.

Patidongan recently surfaced and provided information to the police and the Department of Justice about the case of the missing sabungeros, including the alleged dumping of the cadavers into the Taal Lake.

The alleged whistleblower named Ang, policemen and some personalities as involved in the disappearance of the cockfight enthusiasts.

Ang denied the allegation and filed cases against Patidongan for conspiracy to commit attempted robbery with violence or intimidation of persons, grave threats, grave coercion, grave slander and for falsely incriminating innocent individuals.