MANILA, Philippines – All this time, what were believed to be remains found inside a septic tank at the New Bilibid Prison were chicken bones.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed on Tuesday, August 8, that what were found were not the remains of a human but of alleged remains were not of human origins, but rather of chicken.

“Hindi po siya buto ng tao (They were not human bones),” Annalyne Dadiz of the medico legal division of the NBI said during a hearing led by the Senate committee on justice on Tuesday, August 8.

“In all likelihood…It is consistent with chicken leg bone,” she added.

Aside from the chicken bone, the investigation bureau recovered the following:

• Male underwear
• Lighters
• Razor/ shaver

In late July, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials announced the discovery of an alleged corpse while searching for Michael Angelo Cataroja, a person deprived of liberty who had been missing since July 15. The NBI immediately conducted an examination on the septic tank, where the alleged remains were discovered.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla later confirmed that the alleged corpse found in the Bilibid septic tank was not Cataroja. Officials said Cataroja’s body was found near a criminal gang’s area inside Bilibid. Remulla even added that more mass graves might be found inside Bilibid.

The BuCor’s supposed revelation led to hearings and inquiries, only for Remulla to admit in a House hearing on August 3 that he got the wrong information when he said that Cataroja’s body was already found. The NBI’s recent disclosure of its findings backed Remulla’s retraction of his statement.

Officials have also yet to determine Cataroja’s whereabouts.

A separate set of resource persons, forensic and anthropology experts Nestor Castro and Richard Jonathan Taduran, started their own examination. Taduran said on Tuesday they expected to release their findings this week. – Rappler.com