According to philippines news agency:riminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said on Wednesday they could not endorse to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the affidavits received from supposed witnesses in the missing cockfighters or sabungeros due to failure to follow the proper preparation procedure. CIDG director Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano said the affidavits, submitted to them by 12 alleged former employees of whistleblower Julie Patidongan last July 11, were executed without the presence of police investigators.
According to Philippines News Agency, Abrahano stated that under police protocols, investigators should assist affiants in preparing affidavits to ensure the veracity of the documents. He explained the situation, saying, "Bakit hindi sinubmit sa DOJ? Primarily, hindi kasi yung mga investigators natin ang nagkolekta nung pieces of evidence na iyon. Dumating lang yun na mga dokumento. So dapat marapat lang na i-receive namin yun (Why were they not submitted to the DOJ? Primarily because those evidence were not collected by our investigators. The documents were submitted to us and we received them)," during a press briefing at Camp Crame.
Abrahano further elaborated, "Pero tsinek din ng ating mga investigators natin. Ayun nga, hindi sila ang nag-assist doon sa mga affiants so that begs the question yung veracity nung mga statements (But upon checking, we learned that none of our investigators assisted the affiants in preparing them so that begs the question. [How can we ensure the] veracity of the documents)."
Nonetheless, the CIDG chief clarified that the witnesses still have the option of submitting their affidavits directly to the DOJ themselves. 'Itong mga witnesses for the respondents ay hindi naman (These witnesses for the respondents are not) precluded from submitting those affidavits doon na sa (to the) DOJ. They will be entertained naman,' he noted, adding that the DOJ would give these witnesses a chance to present their affidavits during preliminary investigation.
Bernardo Vitriolo, counsel for Police Senior Master Sergeant Joey Encarnacion, one of the accused police officers, previously accused the CIDG of withholding the affidavits. However, Abrahano dismissed the lawyer's claims, asserting, 'In fairness to Atty. Vitriolo, he is not privy to the submission of the affidavits... There's no truth doon sa sinasabi niya na itinatago natin itong mga papeles na ito (to what he is saying, that we are hiding these papers).'
