‘Missing Sabungero’ News5 reporter allegedly receives death threat from whistleblower

A reporter covering the “Missing Sabungeros” case, News5 journalist Gary De Leon, revealed that he received a death threat from whistleblower “Totoy” on Oct. 27, according to a post today by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

NUJP reported that Julie “Totoy” Patidongan was the one who threatened De Leon after the reporter tried to ask for his comment on the case.

“De Leon told the NUJP Safety Office that Julie “Totoy” Patidongan threatened him on October 27 after he reached out to the whistleblower and his lawyers for comment for a story,” NUJP stated.

“Totoy” or Julie “Dondon” Patidongan was identified as the key whistleblower in the case of missing cockfight enthusiasts after serving as a longtime manager and aide of businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang.

“De Leon stressed to the NUJP Safety Office that he had merely reached out to Patidongan and his lawyers to get their side in the spirit of fairness,” NUJP further stated. 

NUJP added that the Presidential Task Force on Media Security had already been informed of the incident, emphasizing that this reflects the continuing struggles and threats faced by journalists and media workers.

“We also understand that De Leon’s newsroom has issued a statement or is preparing one. We remind parties in cases that journalists covering a story are only doing their jobs,” NUJP said.

Similarly, on October 22, Filipino journalist and broadcaster Emil Sumangil also admitted receiving death threats after reporting on the case of the 34 missing sabungeros.