Suspects in death of 58-year-old woman in Talisay charged in court

CEBU, Philippines - The suspects in the killing of a 58-year-old woman in Talisay City last March were charged with murder before the Regional Trial Court.

Facing charges are Remondo “Bebing” Barangan, his brother Tata and two unidentified others. They were tagged as suspects in the death of Teresita de Guzman last March 23 whose body was found wrapped in plastic and placed inside a box buried at the back of her house in Talisay City. 

De Guzman’s younger brother, Mateo Dungog, his wife Frezzy and police investigator PO1 Eugenio Santillan were the ones who discovered the victim’s body. They were checking De Guzman’s backyard when the driver of the police patrol car, Dionisio Sigue, noticed an infestation of red ants near the fence.

Dungog immediately hired some men to dig around the area and when the dig reached about 10 inches, the men reportedly noticed a foul smell from the soil.

De Guzman’s daughter, Catherine, said she has been looking for her mother since March 30 after the latter failed to get in touch with her.

In her affidavit, Leyco said she was there when the body of her mother was recovered from the pit covered in cardboard and sheets of plastic then tightly wrapped in packaging tape.

During the exhumation, Tata reportedly brandished a gun and ordered the men digging to stop what they were doing. This reportedly provoked the Talisay City police led by Police Chief Henry Biñas to chase him but Tata managed to escape.

Witnesses reportedly saw Barangan and Tata come out of De Guzman’s house in the morning of March 23 with a box, which was believed to be where De Guzman’s body was placed.

A subpoena was sent to the suspects but they failed to answer the accusations. — Jasmin R. Uy/JMO (THE FREEMAN)