By CESAR JOLITO III
Authorities have identified the decomposing body of a 26-year-old man discovered wrapped in plastic and secured with tape in a sugarcane plantation at Barangay Pacol in Negros Occidental’s Bago City.
The body was discovered at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, July 2, in Purok Langka after sugarcane workers traced a foul odor to an area near an irrigation canal.
It was found beneath a concrete electric post.
The victim, identified only by the alias “Mickey,” a resident of Bacolod City’s Barangay 16, was positively identified by his siblings and former live-in partner through his distinctive tattoos and the clothes he was wearing.
His former live-in partner said the victim was last seen with several unidentified individuals on June 27 at the Bacolod City Public Plaza.
He had not been heard from until his body was recovered five days later.
Police said verification showed that the victim previously faced cases for violating Presidential Decree No. 1602, or the Illegal Gambling Law, filed in 2018 and 2024.
Investigators are also validating intelligence information regarding his alleged possible involvement in previous property crime incidents to determine whether these may provide leads or establish a possible motive.
Authorities stressed that these are still under assessment and should not be treated as established facts.
The Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) said investigators are pursuing all possible angles, including forensic examination, to determine the exact cause of death and identify the person or persons responsible for the crime.
“We assure the public that this case is being treated with utmost urgency. Our investigators are exhausting all available investigative leads and coordinating with other law enforcement units to identify those responsible,” PRO-NIR Director Police Brigadier General Romano Cardiño said.
Police also appealed to the public to refrain from spreading unverified information that could hamper the investigation and encouraged anyone with relevant information to coordinate with the police.
The investigation remains ongoing./CCJ, WDJ