MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Wanted businessman Atong Ang is believed to be in either Cambodia or Thailand, according to the statement of whistleblower Julie Patidongan, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Thursday.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Patidongan claimed that Ang has the means to travel to Cambodia and may have used "backdoor" routes to evade authorities.
"According to Patidongan, our star witness, he has access to Cambodia. He has ways to get there, and we are investigating whether he passed through a backdoor," he said.
The Interior chief added that there were reports that Ang had online sabong operations based in Cambodia, suggesting that he may have already established a network in the area, including parts of Thailand.
"Kasi tandaan mo lahat nung mga POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) lumipat sa Manila to Cambodia-Thailand border. So baka nag-exodus na papunta doon, nag-settle ng sariling operations doon," he added.
Remulla however said that authorities were still verifying the information.
If it is confirmed that Ang is indeed in Cambodia or Thailand, Remulla said the matter would be elevated to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
"I think that is a matter for the president, kasi chair siya ng ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), siya ang may access sa direct leadership talks, so we will bring it out to the President and we will see what he decides to do," Remulla said.
In a briefing, Palace Press Officer...
After making a series of errors and misidentifying several widely circulated images and videos over the past several days, Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok is now deleting tweets that contain evidence of i...