Atong Ang
Charlie Tiu Hay Sy Ang (born August 29, 1957), commonly referred to as Atong Ang, is a Filipino businessman, gambling magnate known for his involvement in the jueteng and cockfighting industries. He gained national attention in 2000 when he became a co-accused in the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada, and was issued an arrest warrant in April 2001 for plunder. Although he had fled from the Philippines during EDSA II, he was arrested by the FBI in the United States on November 25, 2001 upon an extradition request by the Philippine government, being detained for five years before his extradition to the Philippines in November 2006. After pleading guilty of indirect bribery in 2007, Ang served two years in prison before being released in May 2009. In 2025, Ang was accused by a former security aide of perpetrating the disappearance of more than 100 cockfighting enthusiasts from 2021 to 2022, although he has denied the allegations. Early lifeCharlie "Atong" Ang was born on August 29, 1957 to Catalina Ang (born 1929).[2][3] According to Catalina's former cook Delia Rajas, Atong Ang has a sister named "Allan", later alleged to have used the alias "Yolanda Uy" in attempting to erase Ang's bank records.[2][4] Business careerIn the 1990s, Ang owned a company named Power Express.[2] By 1999, he headed Power Management and Consultancy Inc., a private firm alleged to have been established by jai alai enthusiasts.[5] In the same year, Ang became a "consultant for marketing and promotions" for the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).[5] Ang is the chairman of Pitmasters Live and the owner of Lucky 8 Starquest, a major online cockfighting platform.[6] He was previously involved in the illicit numbers game known as jueteng, and later transitioned to its legalised counterpart, the Small Town Lottery, operated under the auspices of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.[7] Ang is also recognized for co-founding the Ultimate Fighting Cock Championship (UFCC) and financing cockfighting teams. Legal issues and controversiesAlleged assault of Rep. Patrick AntonioIn late February 1996, Representative Patrick Antonio of Cagayan, a cockfighting enthusiast,[8][9] accused Ang and his bodyguards of assaulting him at the Roligon Mega Cockpit in Parañaque on February 21, 1996 while he was hosting a derby.[10][11][12] He alleged that several of them were members of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC), chaired by Vice President Joseph Estrada, and denounced Ang for the "wanton and abusive display of naked power by someone who is associated with somebody in power."[12][13] Although a hearing had begun to be held by the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, chaired by Rep. Teodulo Natividad of Bulacan's 1st district, Ang did not appear before Congress, citing his alleged loose bowel movement, gas pains and nausea based on a provided medical certificate.[14] In the years after, Antonio and Ang continued to have cockfighting matches with each other.[15][16] In 2022, Ang cited Antonio to be among the major licensees of online cockfighting ("e-sabong") who are in his circle of friends.[17][18] Casino Filipino videotape and the disappearance of Egay BentainAng is a close associate of former president Joseph Estrada, and the two, Danny Devnani (who can be seen coaching Estrada),[19], along with casino manager and PAGCOR chief Reynaldo Butch Tenorio[20] have been caught on a leaked videotape playing high-stakes baccarat at the Casino Filipino Silahis[21] branch at the Grand Boulevard Hotel along Roxas Boulevard in Manila during September 15, 1996.[22] The video tape was leaked by Casino Filipino CCTV operator and technician Edgardo "Egay" Bentain[23] to the press two months before the 1998 presidential election, in which Estrada won the presidency.[20][24] Bentain mysteriously disappeared during January 16, 1999 shortly after stepping out of the Casino Filipino Roxas Blvd. branch.[20] In an affidavit in August 2001, Devnani, one of Ang's gambling associates, had linked Ang to Bentain's disappearance. According to Devnani, Ang knew who leaked the video tape and provided a cryptic warning ("Alam ko 'yan. Kami na bahala. Malapit na") and didn't take any notice until Devnani saw news headlines that Bentain had disappeared.[19] Angelo Mawanay, alias "Ador", alleged that Panfilo Lacson ordered Bentain to be abducted and buried alive by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task force. Lacson alleges that military intelligence chief Col. Victor Corpus is using Mawanay as part of then nascent president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government campaign to bring Lacson down.[25] Impeachment trial of Joseph EstradaOn October 4, 2000, Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson and jueteng lord, a longtime friend of Estrada, went public with accusations that Estrada and his friends and family had received millions of pesos from operations of jueteng: an illegal numbers game played by selecting two numbers ranging from 1 to 37, which bettors can play for as low as one peso. Ang triggered the rift between Estrada and Singson. Estrada allegedly gave Ang the green light to operate jueteng, which threatened to put Singson out of his illegal business.[26] According to Singson, Estrada received ₱220 million in jueteng protection money since taking over the presidency.[27] Singson also testified that Ang managed a gambling consultancy firm owned by Estrada[28] named Prominent Management and Consultancy, which was awarded the exclusive contract to operate Bingo 2-Ball nationwide "pending review of the system and operating procedures" for PAGCOR[27] which, according to Singson, earned at least ₱500,000 (equivalent to ₱1,092,959 in 2021) per night. Bingo 2-Ball was stopped after it was revealed that 23 percent of the profits have been directly transferred into Ang's bank account, and that all Bingo 2-Ball operators were former illegal jueteng operators. Singson, then Ilocos Sur governor, former Estrada sympathizer and one of the major figures behind Estrada's impeachment,[6] said: "Bingo 2-Ball was not designed to kill jueteng but to systematize the payoffs, with the president and Atong Ang getting 23 percent of the action, much bigger than what Erap (Estrada) is getting from jueteng.".[22] Ang was a co-accused in the 2000 impeachment trial of Estrada, linked to a ₱4-billion plunder case and ₱130-million[24] diversion for tobacco excise taxes. On the morning of January 20, 2001, at the height of EDSA II, he fled the Philippines on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong,[29] and then took a flight to the United States, where he sought asylum.[23][30] On April 25, 2001, the Sandiganbayan issued an arrest warrant for Ang on charges of plunder alongside Estrada, his son Jinggoy and his business associate Yolanda Ricaforte among others,[31] with Ang later arrested by the FBI at the Paris Las Vegas casino hotel along the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on the basis of an extradition request in the early hours of November 25, 2001.[32] Ang tried to apply for bail, but the Las Vegas court denied this request on March 1, 2002, instead opting for an extradition.[33] He was later extradited back to the Philippines on November 10, 2006, and with Ruth Castelo as his lawyer, Ang entered a plea bargain with the government in 2007 by admitting guilt to "corruption of public officials in relation to indirect bribery".[24][34][35][36][37] He was sentenced to two years probation; although he later requested that he be allowed to serve as a lottery consultant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Sandiganbayan denied his request in December 2007.[38][39] He served his sentence in a Quezon City prison until his release in late May 2009.[40][41][24] According to newspaper columnist Ramon Tulfo, Ang returned to illegal gambling by June 2009, operating jai-alai and small-town lottery games in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone.[39][42] MasiaoAs a PAGCOR contractor during Estrada's presidential tenure, Ang also distributed Pagcor IDs for bet collectors within Visayas and Mindanao. Rex "Wakee" Salud, a boxing promoter who also operates an off-fronton betting station in Cebu City, told a local radio station that Ang authorized him to distribute Pagcor IDs in Cebu City. These IDs were used to collect illegal "masiao" bets - an illegal numbers game based on outcomes of a jai-alai game in Manila, which is as popular in Visayas and Mindanao as jueteng is in Luzon.[22] Then Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said that the police should arrest all bet collectors in Visayas and Mindanao with Pagcor IDs. Estrada ordered to rescind Ang's consultancy contract on October 8, 2000.[22] Involvement over small-town lotteries
Originally introduced as a state-sanctioned alternative to illegal numbers games such as jueteng, small-town lotteries (STL) became mired in allegations of corruption, favoritism, and regulatory capture—charges in which Ang's name repeatedly surfaced. Ang was widely perceived as a shadow operator wielding significant influence over STL operations through alleged proxy corporations and political connections. His perceived monopoly and backdoor control of the STL raised questions about the integrity of the program and its alignment with its intended charitable objectives. Critics argued that STL had merely formalized illegal gambling under the guise of government oversight, with Ang at its center.[43] Tensions between Ang and the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte escalated in 2019, when Duterte ordered the brief suspension of all STL operations, citing “massive corruption” within the PCSO in 2019.[44] Although Ang denied any wrongdoing, Duterte publicly named him as one of the personalities allegedly benefiting unduly from the system.[45] Barretto family feudIn October 2019, Ang found himself entangled in a widely publicized altercation within the Barretto family during the wake of Miguel Barretto, father of actress and socialite Gretchen Barretto, with whom Ang has reportedly been in a partnership since 2017. The incident, which took place in the presence of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, reportedly escalated into a confrontation between Gretchen and her sister Marjorie Barretto, prompting security personnel to intervene. The dispute quickly spilled onto social media, where Gretchen launched pointed criticisms at Marjorie and her niece, actress Julia Barretto. The affair dominated headlines and became a fixture of national gossip coverage.[46] Ang insists that Tony Boy Cojuangco, Gretchen Barretto's business partner, allegedly asked him to accompany Gretchen at the wake. Ang recalled the incident in a TV Patrol interview on October 24, 2019: "Tumawag sa akin si Tony (Boy Cojuangco). Sabi sa akin, ‘Pare, pakisamahan si Gretchen, baka mapaaway ‘yan doon.’ Iyon ang sabi sa akin ni Tony. Sabi ko, ‘Sige, samahan ko na lang.’ Kausap ko si Gretchen. ‘Sige, samahan na lang kita’,". Ang admits that he travels often with Gretchen, but with a group of friends; should they be seen holding hands in public, it is because he is a “gentleman,”.[47] Kidnapping accusationsIn 2025, Ang was implicated by whistleblower Julie "Dondon" Patidongan (alias "Totoy") in the disappearance of over 100 cockfighting enthusiasts, known as sabungeros. Patidongan, who once headed Ang's security at a cockfighting arena, alleged that Ang masterminded the abductions, with supposed involvement from actress Gretchen Barretto, policemen and other associates.[48][49] Ang has denied the allegations, filing a counter-affidavit before the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC).[50] Personal lifeAng is married to Iris Ang and has three children.[1] One of his children, Elaine, is an actress.[51] In March 1996, he allegedly suffered from gas pains, nausea and loose bowel movements that resulted in his non-attendance of a House committee hearing on Ang's alleged assault of Rep. Patrick Antonio.[14] In 2007, he reportedly suffered from a kidney ailment, hypertension, pedal edema and lower back pain while being sentenced by the Sandiganbayan.[35][52] According to newspaper columnist Ramon Tulfo, Ang dated a flight stewardess who was one of the girlfriends of former president Joseph Estrada while the latter was in prison.[42] Ang has been romantically involved with Sunshine Cruz.[citation needed] References
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