“WE ARE MOVING FAST”
National Police Chief Nicolas Torre this week said authorities needed to act swiftly on the latest information.
“The typhoon season is coming in,” he told journalists on Tuesday.
“We are moving fast to at least try to locate the bodies. We know that it is very, very challenging.”
The justice minister said on Friday he had requested technical assistance from Japan, including help with mapping the lake bed, parts of which are as deep as 172m.
Japan’s embassy in Manila told AFP it had received the request without providing further details.
But Torre believes the Philippines had the necessary equipment on hand to begin the search.
“We have a very, very robust shipping industry here and in other parts of the Philippines, so we can do it.”
Cockfighting, banned in many other countries, survived the coronavirus pandemic restrictions by going online, drawing many more gamblers who use their mobile phones to place wagers.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte banned the livestreaming of cockfights shortly before leaving office in 2022, but it has continued due to lax enforcement.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippines-search-missing-cockfighters-5230746
