TWO charred remains of unidentified men believed to be salvage victims were found in a vacant lot in the mountain village of Putat, Tuburan, northwestern Cebu Tuesday morning, May 28, 2019.

Residents were troubled at the sight of the victims.

Tuburan Police Station Chief Ismael Gauna said a concerned citizen informed his personnel about the presence of the corpses in Putat through a phone call past 6 a.m.

The police station then sought the help of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) team, which later arrived and determined that the bodies had been burned.

However, the Soco personnel could not yet determine if the victims had been killed before they were set on fire by the perpetrators.

Gauna said the culprits possibly killed the victims in another place and they just dumped the bodies in Putat to avoid detection.

During the Soco’s initial examination, the crime scene investigators found out that the victims were men. They also theorized that the victims have been dead for a week now.

The bodies were already in an advanced stage of decomposition and reeked of foul smell, according to Gauna.

Gauna would not say if the men were salvage victims as his personnel are still investigating.

He urged the residents of Tuburan and its neighboring towns who have missing relatives to visit the police station.

Police will get swab samples of the persons who will claim the bodies for a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing. Gauna said they got samples from the bodies for the test.

According to desk officer Joel Gulbuena, a person called up the police station last Tuesday afternoon and reported a missing relative who has a mental illness.

The personnel of St. Peter funeral home fetched the bodies and kept them in the morgue. They advised the police to bury the bodies because the foul smell is unbearable. (From AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, KAL)