2021–2022 Luzon sabungero disappearances

Between April 2021 and January 2022, at least 34 people involved in cockfighting, known in Filipino as sabungeros, disappeared from various locations across Luzon, Philippines. Most disappearances, 19 in total, occurred in Laguna province, with additional cases reported in Batangas, Bulacan, Manila, and Rizal. At least one victim was confirmed to have been kidnapped. The cases drew significant national media attention, with victims collectively referred to as "the missing sabungeros."

The first documented disappearance occurred on April 28, 2021, when a man identified as Prince was seen being escorted in handcuffs in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Subsequent disappearances followed a pattern involving armed men, staged arrests, and financial theft from victims' bank accounts. On August 30, 2021, chicken breeder and online cockfighting "master agent" Ricardo Lasco was taken from his home in San Pablo, Laguna, by men who identified themselves as National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents; the NBI later stated no such operation occurred that day. In January 2022, several more sabungeros disappeared after traveling to cockfighting events in Batangas and Manila, including brothers Jeffrey and Nomer Depano, whose abandoned van was later found with their clothes inside.

Philippine authorities, including the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Justice (DOJ), and National Bureau of Investigation, launched investigations throughout 2022, identifying persons of interest, tracing cellphone locations, and eventually indicting three police officers in connection with the Lasco case. Businessman Atong Ang was implicated by witnesses in March 2022, an allegation he denied. Misinformation also circulated online, including false claims about bodies being found, which were debunked by police as unrelated to a shootout in Maguindanao.

The case remained largely unresolved until June 2025, when a man using the alias "Totoy" came forward to GMA News, claiming to have knowledge of the killings. He alleged that victims were restrained, transported, and strangled, and that their remains were disposed of in Taal Lake. Totoy also claimed the true number of victims was closer to 100, far exceeding the 34 initially reported, and implicated approximately 30 individuals, including 20 police officers, as well as Ang and actress Gretchen Barretto. Both Ang and Barretto denied involvement. DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla stated that corroborating evidence had been found, though its nature was not disclosed. Search operations by the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy at Taal Lake and a fish farm in Talisay, Batangas, recovered sacks containing possible bones, pending forensic confirmation.

In January 2026, a court in Santa Cruz, Laguna, issued arrest warrants for Ang and others on kidnapping and homicide charges. Seventeen individuals, including ten police officers, were arrested; Ang remained at large, prompting government reward offers and an Interpol Red Notice issued in May 2026. President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier acknowledged in 2022 that the missing sabungeros were likely dead and later ordered the termination of online cockfighting (e-sabong) operations due to their social cost.