Atong Ang still alive, almost arrested in PH

Wanted gambling operator Charlie “Atong” Ang was recently spotted in the Philippines, contrary to a viral YouTube claim that he died in Malaysia at age 68. The video also used an out-of-context clip of actress and former partner Sunshine Cruz and unrelated wake imagery to make the false claim appear credible. 

The claim appears in an April 9 YouTube video from the Blind Item University channel, which has more than 232,000 subscribers. Titled “🔥 ATONG ANG PUMANAW SA MALAYSIA SA EDAD 68 SUNSHINE CRUZ NAPALUHA 🔴 (Atong Ang died in Malaysia at age 68, Sunshine Cruz breaks down in tears),” the video has drawn more than 37,000 views, 380 likes and 74 comments as of writing.

But authorities have publicly said he was seen in the Philippines, undercutting the video’s central claim that he died in Malaysia..

In a phone interview by One News’ Storycon, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Ang was almost caught in the Philippines on the morning of April 9, the same day Blind Item University circulated the false claim.

Kanina, si Atong, muntik na namin macorner. Nag-operations kami kanina kasi may eyeball sighting sa kanya, but we were a day too late. Hindi namin naabutan (We almost cornerned Atong a while ago. We conducted an operation a while ago because there was an eyeball sighting of him, but we were a day too late. We didn’t catch him on time). [37:49-38:00 mark]

In a joint press briefing on April 13 at Camp Crame, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Ang was recently seen in the country. He said at the 23:28-23:49 mark:

There was a report, an actual report of an eyeball contact. Ibig sabihin non, nakita siya in person. Immediately, gumawa kami ng follow-up operations…Ang last report ay nakita siya dito sa Pilipinas (That means that he was seen in person. We immediately did a follow-up operation…According to the last report, he was seen in the Philippines).

In an April 16 interview on GMA News Unang Hirit, Remulla said Ang had been spotted in the Calabarzon region and was the subject of an Interpol red notice:

Atong Ang has [an Interpol] Red Notice. He was spotted in Region 4-A two weeks ago. Nakita siya (he was seen).  [10:40-10:48 mark]

The video alleges that Ang died in Malaysia after supposedly fleeing the Philippines through a “backdoor exit" in the country’s southern region. To support the claim, it used a clip of Cruz crying and saying tearfully:

Kahit naman before, willing naman ako eh, na parang, pwede naman kahit maging civil man lang tayo for the kids, kasi mahal naman ng mga anak [ko] (Even before, I was willing to be civil for the kids, because my kids love him).”

The clip was taken out of context. In the original interview with broadcast journalist Karen Davila, the actress was speaking about her breakup with ex-husband Cesar Montano and their children’s relationship with him, not about Ang.

The video also showed a casket at a wake to reinforce the claim about Ang’s supposed death. But the image matches visuals from the wake of actress Nora Aunor, including the same casket design, floral arrangements and lighting. (AGS)