Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

Calinisan

Karen De Guzman

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Families of drug war victims sought the help of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) on Wednesday to investigate police officers they accuse of abducting their children.The complainants decided to revive their cases after learning that some of the suspended policemen tagged in the cockfight disappearance cases were the same ones they have long been accusing in the disappearances..Milagros Estacio’s son was last seen in February 2021, forced into a vehicle in Manila caught on CCTV.“Apat na taon na po nawawala ‘yung anak ko, nagpaalam lang naman po siya na may sisingilin siya na kaibigan. May isang alias &#x27;Kulot&#x27; na nakita sa CCTV na sumakay doon sa sasakyan na nag-abduct. ‘Yung Atienza na ‘yan, kasama po ‘yan ng mga kapulisan,” Estacio said.(My son has been missing for four years. He said he was just going to get some money back from a friend. A certain &#x27;Kulot&#x27; was seen getting into the vehicle used in the abduction. That Atienza, he is with the police) Elizabeth Sotto’s son also went missing a month later during a police anti-drug operation in Las Piñas.“Nadamay lang po doon sa isang kasama niya, kaibigan niya. Siguro hindi naman kukunin kaya lang kasama siya noong time na yun. And then, ayun, kinuha na sila, hinarang na sila sa labas,” she said.(My son was just caught up in that. Maybe he was not a target but he was with his friend at the time. And then they were both taken)In Cavite, Roger Mateos lost not one but two sons allegedly to the same group of policemen.His case before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) was dismissed.“‘Yun nga ang hindi ko po malaman. Nandun na ‘yung malakas sila, may pera ‘yung kalaban namin,” he said.(I still don&#x27;t know why. It may be that they were influential. The people we were up against was had money)<div> </div><div>CALINISAN: OTHER VICTIMS IDENTIFIED 4 OF 12 COPS IN SABUNGERO CASE</div>According to Napolcom Vice Chairperson and Executive Officer Commissioner Rafael Calinisan, four of the 12 suspended policemen implicated in the sabungero case were also identified by the victims’ families.“Hindi lang pala war on drugs ang pinag-uusapan dito. Nalihis pa sa sabong. At technically hindi lang sabong ang pinag-uusapan dito, EJK pala,” Calinisan said.(This was apparently not just about the drug war. They strayed into sabong. And technically, this is not just sabong, it also involves extrajudicial killings)He said the involvement of the same police officers in the two cases shows there is a link between them.He added that authorities are not discounting the possibility that some of the missing victims were among the bodies dumped in Taal Lake.“Our policemen have sworn to protect and serve, sila dapat ang huling-huling na i-involve sa ganitong klaseng mga kontrobersya (They should be the last to be involved in this kind of controversy)”Despite years of setbacks, families vowed not to stop until they get answers.Napolcom assured the parents that its probe will continue to determine the full extent of police involvement in both the drug war disappearances and the sabungero case.<script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABgBH7BMaJgVkogZ"></script>

Families of drug war victims sought the help of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) on Wednesday to investigate police officers they accuse of abducting their children.

Families of drug war victims sought the help of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) on Wednesday to investigate police officers they accuse of abducting their children.

Drug war victims' kin see link to missing sabungeros, file raps vs cops

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Drug war victims' kin see link to missing sabungeros, file raps vs cops

Karen De Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 03, 2025 06:59 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 03, 2025 09:36 PM PHT

Read More:

Napolcom

National Police Commission

missing sabungeros

war on drugs

extra-judicial killings

abduction

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