AUTHORITIES recovered a body with police identification in a steep road along Macapagal highway in Upper Carmen, Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday morning.
In an initial investigation of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) in Northern Mindanao, the body sustained two gunshot wounds in the head and face.
Police senior Inspector Alfredo Ortiz Jr., Barangay Carmen police chief, confirmed the victim is not a police officer despite the police identification and badge hanged on the victim’s neck.
Senior Police Officer 2 Fernando Laspoña, Carmen Police Station investigator, confirmed that Junal Guro-Magundadato’s police ID and his badge found hanging on his neck are fake.
Laspoña said a genuine PNP member’s ID has specific details like the owner’s name and a rank, contrary to Mangundato’s.
“Lagmit nagpapulis-pulis lang ni (It is likely that he was posing as a police officer),” he said of Magundadato’s real identity.
Authorities are still waiting for the relatives to claim the victim’s remains at the Bollozos Funeral Parlor in Bulua.
Laspoña said Magundadato could be a victim of summary execution. He reported that the police didn’t recover any evidence where his body was found except for the fake ID and the badge.
Police Officer 1 Darwish Jialani said Soco’s forensic doctor will determine the cause of death of the victim.
The body has been in the early stage of decomposition. The police believed he was killed and dumped in the area about three to four days ago.
The victim, in his 40s, wore black pants and a hooded sweat shirt. (Loui S. Maliza)