P10M REWARD OFFERED FOR ARREST OF ATONG ANG

INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday said the government will provide a P10- million reward for information leading to the arrest of businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang, the lead accused in the case involving the missing “sabungeros.”

Remulla described Ang as armed and dangerous.

“Ang DILG ay maglalagay ng 10 million na patong para sa kaniyang pagkakaaresto. Any information leading to the conclusive arrest of Atong Ang will merit a 10-million peso reward,” Remulla said, noting that this aims to speed up the arrest of Ang.

The DILG chief called on Ang to stop evading arrest and cooperate with authorities.

“Surrender now peacefully and we will treat you with respect. If you become a fugitive from the law, then we will treat you like a fugitive,” Remulla said.

He said that right now, the 320,000 police personnel of the PNP have been directed to take part in the nationwide manhunt for Ang, now tagged by the government as the “most wanted criminal in the country.”

Meanwhile, police failed to serve arrest warrants against Ang after he was not found in several of his properties.

On Thursday, police went to two properties of Ang in Mandaluyong City to serve warrants for kidnapping with homicide and kidnapping with serious illegal detention but he was not there.

On Wednesday, NBI agents also failed to locate Ang at his farm in Lipa City, Batangas and in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Also on Wednesday, operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) attempted to serve the arrest warrant at Ang’s residence in Pasig City but only the businessman’s lawyer was present, who received the court order.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it will request for a hold departure order against Ang.

Earlier, the Santa Cruz, Laguna Regional Trial Court Branch 26 issued a warrant of arrest against Ang and his 17 co-accused for non-bailable cases of kidnapping with homicide and kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the disappearance of the cockfighting enthusiasts.

All the 17 co-accused of Ang in the cases filed before the Santa Cruz  court are now  in police custody.