MANILA — The lawyer of Gretchen Barretto on Wednesday questioned the credibility of Julie "Dondon" Patidongan alias "Totoy," a whistleblower who accused the actress and businessman Atong Ang of links to the disappearance of several cockfighting enthusiasts.
Barreto's lawyer Alma Mallonga said Patidongan's statements were "ridiculous" and had no concrete evidence. She accused Patidongan of sensationalizing the issue to sustain public interest.
"My understanding is that the status of the case is still case build-up. I don't even know if Mr. Whistleblower's affidavit has been completed. I understand that he may still be growing his story, he may still be embellishing it. But what I do understand is there may not have been yet a preliminary assessment of Mr. Whistleblower, taken as a whole," Mallonga said.
"The fact of the matter is the witness should not only be credible, his allegations should also be credible," she added.
"It's fantasy, it's invention, it's sensationalizing something to sustain interest on what he is saying. But at the end of the day, he is bound by what he already said, and what he already admitted is he has no evidence. Ang sinasabi nya, paniwalaan n'yo ako dahil ako ay trusted ni Atong Ang (What he was saying was that the public should believe him because he was a trusted man of Atong Ang). How ridiculous is that?"
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