Manila, July 10 -- The families of missing sabungeros (cockfight afficionados) welcomed the start of the government's search for human remains possibly linked to the disappearance of their loved ones at the Taal Lake in Batangas province.

The Department of Justice, together with technical divers of the Philippine Coast Guard, started the search for the sabungeros' remains in Taal Lake on Thursday.

This came after whistleblower Julie "Dondon" Patidongan revealed that the remains of the missing sabungeros were thrown into the lake.

"Nagpapasalamat kami sa Panginoong Diyos. Finally, lahat ng sangay ng gobyerno ay tulung-tulong para ma-recover yung mga bodies nito kung talagang nandoon sa Taal Lake. Kami ay umaasa na may mare-recover pa na...