By John Rey Saavedra/Philippine News Agency
CEBU CITY — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Central Visayas on Thursday said they will conduct a parallel investigation on the alleged “salvaging” of two men, whose charred bodies were found on a vacant lot in Putat village, Tuburan town.
Lawyer Arvin Udron, regional director of CHR-7, said the incident could be a case of extrajudicial killing that needs to be investigated.
The charred remains of the two men were discovered by residents of Sitio Matugawi of Putat village.
Lt. Col. Ismael Gauna, chief of the Tuburan police, said a concerned citizen informed his personnel through a phone call at past 6 a.m on Tuesday that they discovered the corpses in Sitio Matugawi.
Investigators discovered the bodies had been burned and could not be identified.
Tuburan Mayor Aljun Diamante told the Philippine News Agency (PNA), in an interview that the two victims could have been killed and burned somewhere.
“The police thinks that the victims came from another place and were just brought and dumped in the area,” Diamante said.
Udron explained that if the Tuburan Police Station uncovers the circumstances of the killing incident, CHR-7 will not bother to conduct an investigation anymore as it is the job of the local police to solve the crime.
The CHR-7 will only dig deeper on the circumstances of the killing, if it involves “state actor” or “state agents,” referring to members of the police or military force.
If human rights investigators will fail to identify the perpetrators of the crime, CHR-7 will give financial assistance to the families of the victims, Udron said.
Lt. Col. Carlos Lacuesta, Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) deputy chief for administration, said two families surfaced to claim the charred bodies.
The families positively identified the two bodies as that of Nicko Baricar, of Barangay Mambaling, and John Paul Galon of Barangay Kalunasan, both of this city.
The police, however, said the families could not yet bring the two victims to their houses even though they positively identified the completely disfigured bodies.
The police suggested a DNA test on the bodies before they can be turned over to the claimants.
Reports said Baricar and Galon were friends, who went missing for a week, before their charred remains were found in Tuburan. Tuburan is 88 kilometers north of this city.
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