Bodies of 8 men found in Benguet ravine

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – Benguet authorities have discovered a total of 8 bodies from a ravine near the Marcos Highway in Tuba town. 

The Benguet police together with the Bureau of Fire Protection went down a 30-meter ravine in Sitio Poyopoy, Barangay Taloy Sur in Tuba near the Marcos Highway at about 1:30 pm on Tuesday after receiving a tip from families looking for their disappeared relatives. 

They were expecting to recover only one body, but found 7 that day, and another one on Wednesday, October 16.

Police Major James Acod of the Tuba police said on Tuesday that several people from Ifugao province had approached them to seek help to look for their lost relatives.

Acod said they headed to Sitio Poyopoy as police were told that it was a favorite disposal area for salvage victims in the 1980s and 1990s. 

According to the Scene Of the Crime Operatives, they examined 7 bodies on Tuesday. Four had been dead for at least two weeks, one for a month, while an examination of the skeletal remains indicated death for about a year. 

Another body was recovered at about 10:30 am on Wednesday and would be subjected to post-mortem investigation as well.

SOCO said all of the bodies were male. 

So far, only one was identified, that of 28-year-old Fahad Manan Macalanggan, a Maranao and a resident of Pinewood, Crystal Cave in Baguio City. He was identified by his father and brother through his tattoos on his right and left arms. 

The police asked those who have missing relatives to go to Damayan Funeral Homes along Marcos Highway in Baguio City and help identify the bodies. 

Poyopoy, because of its deep ravines, dense vegetation, and sparse population, is a favorite dumping grounds for salvage victims in the 1980s. Apparently, it is regaining its notoriety. – Rappler.com