Bones in the Lake

By: Chantal Jade V. Tolores

More than three years have passed since the first reports of sabungeros mysteriously vanishing without a trace emerged. Thirty-four men in a wave of coordinated disappearances— another high-profile case descending into silence, grew skeptical. But now, human bones, stuffed in sacks, have been recovered from the depths of Taal Lake, forcing the issue back into the national conscience.

This is no longer a mystery, but a murder. When a whistleblower named “Totoy” claimed in June 2025 that up to 100 sabungeros had been abducted, killed, and dumped into the lake, many were quick to dismiss the allegations. But the recent recovery of skeletal remains conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) leads to a narrative far darker than we feared. These aren’t just disappearances, these are executions.

And they speak to the existence of an organized criminal operation that spans both the underworld and the halls of power. Worse still, Totoy named names—prominent ones. He linked businessman Atong Ang and actress Gretchen Barretto to the alleged killings, along with several police officials. Whether these accusations hold legal weight is for the courts to decide, but the very fact that such names surface in connection with a mass killing should already trigger alarm. The involvement of law enforcement officials, whether through direct participation or deliberate inaction, can turn a criminal case into a national scandal.

Eleven former intelligence officers of the Philippine National Police have already been removed from duty, yet no formal charges have been filed. Are we truly expecting justice from the institutions possibly complicit in the crime? The pattern is familiar. In past cases of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture, law enforcers have too often been perpetrators rather than protectors. Meanwhile, palace spokespeople say there will be “no cover-up.”

The PCG insists the evidence was not planted and the Department of Justice promises full cooperation. But Filipinos have heard such statements before, only to see truth buried alongside the dead. What the public needs is not reassurance but results and justice should not depend on press releases. For the families of the missing, each day has been an agonizing wait for truth. For many, hope has turned to despair. We owe these families a complete reckoning.

They have lived in the shadows of speculation and silence for far too long. More broadly, we owe ourselves a reckoning too.

How did we let this happen? How did an entire country allow 34 men to vanish while still watching e-sabong games on their phones? Let the bones in Taal Lake be our line in the sand. If we allow this case to dissolve into fall prey to political interference, then we admit the law is nothing more than a tool for the powerful. But if we pursue this case to the bitter end, regardless of who is implicated, we prove that even in a country worn down by impunity, justice still has a pulse.