Corpse burned inside steel drum in Caloocan

The body of a man, believed to be another victim of summary execution, was found charred beyond recognition inside a garbage-filled steel drum in Caloocan City yesterday afternoon.

Police authorities said the cadaver was the second they found this week in the same area now gaining notoriety as a killing field, if not a dumping ground for victims killed by criminals.

Senior Superintendent Benjardi Mantele, Caloocan City police chief, said the gruesome find was discovered inside the Arenas Compound, not far from Manotok Subdivision in Barangay Kaybiga.

PO3 Leonilo Padulaga said an unidentified caller informed them at around 4 a.m. that several shots were heard inside the Manotok Subdivision. A police investigation unit was dispatched but only found a green drum full of burning garbage. The team proceeded to look for signs of the reported gunfire but found no slugs nor empty shells.

The team asked nearby residents about the alleged gunshots but a man whom they saw loitering in the area, Emeriando Arenas, told them he did not hear any shots fired.

When the police returned to the area where they found the drum, they smelled burning human flesh. Taking a closer look, they found the body of an unidentified man about 40 to 45 years old concealed by the burning garbage. However, when they tried look for Arenas to ask more questions, he was nowhere to be found.

Last Tuesday, the headless body of an unidentified man, around 50 to 55 years old, five-feet-eight inches tall, with curly hair, dark complexioned and medium built, was found by police sealed inside a plastic drum floating in a river. The man’s head, contained in a plastic bag, was later found several meters upstream. – Jerry Botial