Few names in Philippine society are more closely linked to gambling than Charlie Tiu Hay Sy Ang, better known to the public as Atong Ang.
Every controversy tied to him has, in one way or another, revolved around the issue of gambling — from engaging in jueteng to small-time lottery to online cockfighting games popularly known as e-sabong.
Speaking of which, Atong is nowadays making headlines once again after he was implicated in the mysterious disappearances of cockfighting enthusiasts or sabungeros.
According to Julie “Dondon” Patidongan, or alias "Totoy," — Atong's former staff turned whistleblower — the controversial businessman ordered the abduction and killings of the sabungeros based on accusations of game fixing.
In response, Atong, who denied the accusation, has filed charges against Totoy, calling the claims an act of harassment, "a betrayal of trust," and "a deliberate assault on my dignity."
Read: Atong Ang denies "mastermind" tag in missing sabungeros case
As previously mentioned, this isn’t the first time Atong has been linked to gambling-related controversies. But this latest claim is undoubtedly the most shocking and damaging, given the weight of the alleged crime.
KEY PERSON IN ERAP'S DOWNFALL
Atong Ang's path to public notoriety began in 1998, when he was seen playing in a casino alongside then-Vice President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, who was preparing a presidential bid to succeed Fidel V. Ramos.
Read: Censorship was a hot topic at the time of President Fidel Ramos
Erap's mass appeal gave him a clear edge in the polls, with surveys and political analysts pointing to a likely victory.
Alarmed by this, his critics banked on the video footage showing the vice president playing baccarat in the VIP section of the Silahis Hotel casino — an act widely viewed as inappropriate for a public official — in hopes of derailing his march to Malacañang.
It was later revealed that the casino video of Erap was released by then-Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chairman Manuel “Manoling” Morato — who was also eyeing the presidency — after he received the footage from Edgar Bentain, a video technician working at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
In 2000, with Erap now in Malacañang, Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson linked Atong to the corruption charges hurled against the president.
Read: Yen Santos quashes alleged love child with Chavit Singson
Chavit and Erap were close friends, but had a fallout after the president gave Atong the right to operate the Bingo 2-Ball, a numbers game that critics labeled as the legalized version of the jueteng game popular in rural areas.
Described as a type of small-town lottery, jueteng bettors select two numbers ranging from one to 37, and can play for as low as one peso.
Jueteng, an illegal numbers game believed to date back to the Spanish colonial era, has repeatedly been the target of government crackdowns, but with little success.
The problem stems from allegations that government officials and even law enforcement profit from the game through bribes and commissions, making its eradication nearly impossible.
In 2000, under the Estrada administration, the government, through the PCSO, launched a nationwide lottery called "Bingo 2-Ball," which, upon closer examination, closely resembled the mechanics of jueteng.
This move threatened the livelihood of jueteng operators, allegedly including Chavit, who was believed to be running the illegal numbers game in his home province of Ilocos Sur.
After surviving a failed assassination attempt, which he claimed was orchestrated by Erap, Chavit publicly accused the president of involvement in illegal activities and corruption.
Chavit’s allegations against Erap were explosive.
He claimed that the president pocketed millions in payoffs from jueteng operations, stashing the money in secret bank accounts, and illegally took PHP130 million in tobacco excise taxes, which, as Atong would later tell the court, he delivered to Erap.
Chavit also testified before the Sandiganbayan that Erap was the real owner of Prominent Venture Corp. — the company behind the Bingo 2-Ball operation — with Atong merely serving as a front, funneling funds into the president’s pockets.
These accusations became the cornerstone of Erap’s impeachment trial, which ultimately led to his ouster as public outrage grew and protesters took to the streets demanding his resignation.
With Erap no longer in power and his name entangled in the corruption scandal, Atong fled to the United States to evade Philippine authorities.
He was eventually arrested while gambling in Las Vegas and extradited to the Philippines in 2006.
Atong admitted to transferring millions of pesos from the tobacco excise tax to Erap.
He entered into a plea bargain, agreeing to return the PHP25 million commission he earned from diverting tobacco excise tax funds to the president, in exchange for a reduced sentence.
The court sentenced Atong to two years' probation from 2007 to 2009.
MORE GAMBLING-RELATED CONTROVERSIES
Atong's past legal troubles did nothing to stop him from engaging in more gambling activities.
In September 2010, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santago named Atong among the top jueteng operators in the country, claiming that he controls areas in Region 2, including Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela.
Atong denied the accusation, telling the news program 24 Oras, "I think mali yung binigay sa kanya [Miriam] diyan. Kasi, maski simula pa noong araw, maski sinong PNP [Philippine National Police], walang makapagsasabi na nag-o-operate ako ng jueteng."
In 2017, Atong allegedly sought the backing of then-PCSO board member Sandra Cam to gain control of the state-run Small Town Lottery or STL operations.
PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan accused Atong of orchestrating a campaign to discredit and remove him from office so that Sandra could take his place.
Alexander even claimed that Atong offered PCSO Chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz a staggering PHP200 million per month in exchange for control over STL operations nationwide.
Atong admitted meeting with the PCSO chief but denied offering a bribe, claiming their discussion was solely about President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to revamp STL as a means to raise funds for government projects.
On January 24, 2018, before departing for New Delhi for the India-ASEAN Special Commemorative Summit, President Duterte admitted calling Atong to ask for his support in the government’s campaign against illegal gambling.
“I called him. I said, ‘Atong, you are the number one gambler here in Davao. You operated all. Let’s not fool each other. You go to the PCSO, you stop all the illegal and help the government,'” the president recalled telling Atong over the phone.
It’s worth noting that Atong was not exactly in the good graces of the Duterte administration, or at least some of its officials, when it came to power in 2016.
He had a public spat with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, alleging that the former was involved in STL operations in Batangas, Laguna, and the Bicol Region, while the latter sought to gain control of STL activities in Pangasinan.
Atong accused both public officials of plotting to kill him to eradicate competition between state-run STLs and those not sanctioned by the government.
Vitaliano then urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to investigate Atong and Meridien Vista Gaming Corporation’s tax liabilities, alleging that the controversial businessman was operating gambling ventures without paying the proper taxes to the government.
Atong was serving as a consultant for Meridien Vista Gaming Corporation, a gaming firm based in the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), and was running STL and Jai-alai operations.
The feud dissipated after Atong paid a visit to the DOJ office on July 20, 2017, to meet with the justice secretary behind closed doors.
"Ang made the brief courtesy call, accompanied by his lawyer, primarily to express his full support to the Duterte administration’s crusade against any form of illegal gambling and to clear some issues that brought about some misunderstandings in the past,” the DOJ said in an issued statement to the media.
WINNING IN E-SABONG
Atong's knack for milking gambling activities to his benefit was once again demonstrated with his success in cockfighting, particularly the online sabong popularly known as e-sabong.
He serves as chairman of Pitmasters Live and owns Lucky 8 Star Quest — both companies are involved in operating online cockfighting platforms.
According to a November 2021 article on Newsbytes.ph, e-sabong has existed since 2013, but its popularity surged during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and continued to thrive even after the government banned it in May 2022 following the disappearance of several sabungeros.
E-sabong was legalized on December 9, 2020, after Congress approved its operation, with PAGCOR designated as its regulatory body.
Bringing the game online made cockfighting accessible to everyone, including many who were unfamiliar with its rules and had never even set foot in a cockfighting arena.
All it takes is a computer or mobile device to place bets on online e-sabong platforms, with mobile wallets handling the cash transactions, and they’re in.
Cockfighting matches are streamed live from cockpit arenas licensed by local governments, allowing e-sabong bettors to watch and track their wagers anytime, anywhere, on mobile devices.
Matches ran around the clock, sometimes up to 300 games a day from a single operator.
E-sabong thrived at the height of the pandemic, as people stuck at home during lockdowns turned to it for entertainment and as a way to earn money during tough times.
Read: Karen Davila says "e-sabong only makes the poor, poorer."
For Atong, e-sabong turned out to be a lucrative venture.
Atong's companies were not lone players in the e-sabong ecosystem. In 2022, there were seven PAGCOR-accredited e-sabong operators in the country.
However, Atong claimed that his companies controlled the vast majority of earnings from e-sabong operations nationwide, effectively giving him a monopoly.
Atong remarked during a Senate hearing: "Kasi 90 percent sa income ng sabong operation, 90 to 95 [percent] kami yun, dahil members ko lahat ng big-time sabungero kasi legit talaga na maayos lahat 'to."
He made this statement to support his claim that allegations linking him to the missing sabungeros were part of a smear campaign by rival operators seeking to break his control of the industry.
His firm, Lucky 8 Star Quest Inc., reportedly earned a gross monthly income of PHP3 billion and handled up to PHP2 billion worth of bets per day.
Atong told Senator Franklin Drilon during a Senate hearing on March 4, 2022, that gross profits from e-sabong are reduced by agent commissions and other operating expenses.
"More or less nasa PHP900 [million], PHP800 [million] ang matitira,” shared Atong.
Meanwhile, PAGCOR gets PHP640 million in revenue per month from e-sabong operations.
In June 2025, the House of Representatives voted 162-2 to pass House Bill 11254, which puts a total ban on e-sabong.
Still, the operations of e-sabong, according to PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco, continue to thrive despite the ban.
"As of now, I think there is an ongoing study, primarily because, despite the ban that was made, if I'm not mistaken, sometime in May of 2022, e-sabong continues — I mean, candidly speaking, e-sabong still continues to proliferate," Alejandro told the Senate on July 16, 2024.
"E-sabong is ongoing, and unfortunately, it is not being regulated... the sad part is that today, the government is not getting a centavo."
ATONG ANG'S TIES WITH THE BARRETTO WOMEN
When not making headlines from his gambling-related ventures, Atong is hitting the news because of his close relationships with women from showbiz.
For the longest time, many were intrigued by his closeness with former actress Gretchen Barretto.
After all, the two were frequently seen together, and were even photographed on a flight, seated side by side, napping and holding hands.
The two denied having an intimate relationship, with Atong stating that they were only close friends and business partners, along with Gretchen's longtime partner, Tonyboy Cojuangco.
“Wala talaga kaming relasyon ni Gretchen. Parang kapatid ko talaga yan, hindi talaga,” Atong stressed in an interview for TV Patrol aired on October 24, 2019.
Incidentally, Gretchen has also been linked to the case of the missing sabungeros, with whistleblower Totoy alleging that the former actress knew about their abduction and murder.
Read:
Atong Ang, Gretchen Barretto tagged in missing sabungeros case
Gretchen Barretto denies involvement in missing sabungeros case
But Gretchen wasn’t the only Barretto Atong was romantically linked with.
Nicole Barretto, niece of Gretchen Barretto, once accused her aunt of "stealing" Atong from her.
Gretchen, on the other hand, denied this, alleging that Nicole "stole" Atong from her younger sister, Claudine Barretto.
In response, Atong gave a rundown of his relationship with the Barretto women in a statement sent to broadcast journalist Henry Omaga-Diaz of ABS-CBN News on October 20, 2019.
"Tungkol kay Nicole, mga four to 11 years ago ay nagkakasama kami ng mommy niya. Kung ano man ang relationship namin, walang kinalaman si Gretchen.
"Si Gretchen kasosyo ko sa casino at saka sabong. Si Tonyboy Cojuangco, kasama ko rin sa casino. May junket ako sa mga casino, si Tony kasosyo ko sa Okada.
"Kung nagkahiwalay kami nila Nicole, walang kinalaman si Gretchen. Ang relasyon namin ni Nicole, parang taga-asikaso ng mga flights ko and schedule ko noon.
"Yung relasyon kay Claudine, ako ang nag-ayos nang nagkaproblema sila ng anak ni Mayor Martin Castro — yun lang ang naging relasyon namin.
"Si Nicole, pinag-aral ko yan. Ang nagtrabaho sa akin, yung nanay niya. Si Gretchen malapit siya sa asawa ko."
Read: Atong Ang, may aaminin na ba sa exclusive interview ng TV Patrol?
LEGAL WIFE AND DATING SUNSHINE CRUZ
Little is publicly known about Atong’s wife, aside from reports naming her as Irish, with whom he is reportedly still legally married.
Previous reports also claim they have three children together: a son and two daughters.
One of Atong’s daughters is actress Elaine Yu, who appeared in the ABS-CBN teleserye Araw Gabi (2018) and the psychological thriller Nuuk (2019), which starred Alice Dixson and Aga Muhlach.
A Philippine Daily Inquirer article dated November 11, 2006, briefly mentioned Irish and noted that Atong never had the chance to properly say goodbye to her and their children when he was extradited from the U.S. to the Philippines to face charges linked to Erap’s corruption cases.
National Bureau of Investigation Regional Operations Service deputy director Reynaldo Esmeralda described Atong as "silent" throughout their 12-hour flight from Los Angeles to Manila.
"Our conversations mainly centered on the sadness he felt because he wasn't able to bid his wife, Irish, and three grown-up children farewell," Reynaldo recalled.
On December 17, 2024, the Bilyonaryo News Channel, hosted by broadcast journalists Pinky Webb and Korina Sanchez, announced that Atong and actress Sunshine Cruz are in a relationship.
Read: Instagram official? Sunshine Cruz posts photo with Atong Ang
Talks of Atong and Sunshine dating had been around for a while, until a viral video of them kissing inside a cockpit arena seemed to put the speculation to rest.
ATONG ANG: HIS LIFE IN HIS OWN WORDS
Little is known about Atong's life outside of the gambling-related controversies and his rumored romance links with showbiz personalities.
Atong, though, offered a glimpse into his private life in a September 2021 episode posted on the Pitmasters Group YouTube channel.
The feature, filmed inside his five-storey home, showed comedian-host Long Mejia spending time with the controversial businessman to get to know him better.
“Laking kalye talaga ako,” Atong said, describing his childhood as simple and carefree.
He recalled helping his parents in their small dealership business, which sold cooking oil and rice vermicelli noodles, also known as bihon, to public markets.
"Diyan ako lumaki sa Pasig. Mandaluyong talaga 'ko, pero sa Pasig kasi pinanganak mama ko, diyan kami nagtitinda ng mga mantika," said Atong.
"'Tsaka nung bata ako, sumasama ako, siguro mga 12 years old ako, dealer kami ng cooking oil, nung Minola nung araw. 'Tapos sumasama ako sa mama ko na mag-deliver," Atong said proudly.
He continued, "Nagtutulak ako [ng trolley] sa palengke ng mantika, sa mga palengke — [Nepa] Q-Mart, Murphy, 'tapos sa Pasig, Antipolo, nagtutulak ako [ng trolley]. Pero para sa akin parang laro, e."
As a reward, Atong’s mother would treat him to street food like fishballs and barbecue — simple fare that felt like a feast to an impressionable young boy.
Atong also recalled taking on other odd but skilled jobs, such as welding, being an electrician, and being a car and motorbike mechanic.
He shared, "Kaya nung nagkakarera ako ng motorsiklo, ako ang nagku-convert. Ako yung nananalo lagi diyan sa Clark [Pampanga] dati, kalaban ko yung mga Amerikano. Yung [Kawasaki] Z1000 kinabitan ko ng turbo 'tapos lumalaban ako."
For context, motorcycle enthusiasts often install turbochargers — a complex but popular modification — on models like the Kawasaki Z1000 to significantly boost engine power.
ATONG ANG'S DAILY ROUTINE
Atong, born on August 29, 1957, was 63 years old at the time of his interview with Long.
To his credit, he appeared to be in remarkably good shape for his age — something he attributed to regular exercise, a strict diet, and disciplined eating habits.
He typically goes to bed around 10 or 11 in the evening and wakes up between five and six in the morning.
His day starts with a glass of juice, followed by a shower and breakfast.
"Twice a day lang ako kumakain, e," shared Atong
"[Sa] umaga, let's say six o' clock. 'Tapos magwu-workout na 'ko nun, 'tapos ang sunod na kain ko nun, one o' clock, 'tapos wala na."
Atong’s lunch typically consists of fish, vegetables, and rice, or occasionally, pasta, depending on what’s available.
He maintains a home gym and dedicates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to weightlifting, while fitting in boxing and cardio exercises on the other days.
His cardio routines include repeatedly going up and down the stairs of his five-storey home or trekking the mountain near his farm in Lipa, Batangas.
On a side note, his farm, AA Cobra Gamefarm, is home to a diverse array of animals, including fighting cocks, camels, ostriches, goats, deer, and even a tiger gifted by his former rival, Chavit Singson.
"Kaya pa," smiled Atong, pertaining to his physical stamina at his age.
"Medyo may resistensya pa tayo maski may edad na."
Atong shared that he has nine grandchildren and enjoys having them around at home, happily playing with them and cooking for them like any doting lolo.
Curiously, despite earning billions, Atong emphasized that he’s not the type who aggressively chases after money.
"Hindi ako nananaginip nang malayo. Kung ano yung nandyan lang, hindi ako ambisyoso, e. Kaya lang kung sinuwerte ka ngayon, yan ang panahon," remarked Atong.
"Kaya lang kahit sa mga apo ko, anak ko, tinuruan ko sila na huwag masyadong tumingin sa pera — hindi kami after sa pera."