After dozens of cockfighting participants allegedly killed by rogue police in Philippines, case takes a new twist

The Philippines' justice secretary said Friday he has asked for Japan's technical assistance to help the search for dozens of cockfighting participants allegedly killed by rogue police and dumped in a lake south of Manila.

The case is tied to a spate of mysterious disappearances in 2022 in the Southeast Asian nation's huge cockfighting industry, known locally as "sabong."

Interest in the unsolved cases has surged since the televized appearance of a witness -- since identified as Julie "Dondon" Patidongan, a recent mayoral candidate -- who claimed to know where bodies had been submerged in Lake Taal.