Barbasa family seeks NBI-6 parallel probe

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Region 6 has started a parallel investigation into the death of nursing student Frank Rois Barbasa.

Atty. Jeremiah Sargado, NBI-6 regional director, said they began their investigation by coordinating with the Philippine National Police office handling the case.

“It’s a way to give respect to them by informing them of the investigation that we will be conducting upon the request of the family,” he said.

Barbasa’s father and grandfather formally asked the NBI-6 on Monday, May 4, to conduct a parallel investigation.

Sargado said NBI-6 agents have already visited the crime scene.

“We will be doing backtracking of the events leading to the discovery of the body,” he said.

Sargado said they would no longer conduct another autopsy and would rely on the examinations performed by Lt. Col. Joe Martin Fuentes of the PNP Regional Forensic Unit 6 and Dr. Owen Lebaquin, a retired PNP medico-legal officer.

“We can’t say for now where this probe leads – whether it would boost the earlier investigation done by the PNP or not. But we will try our boost to shed some more light to the case, hopefully,” he said.

Barbasa’s family has taken custody of the charred body found inside Green Meadows Subdivision in Barangay Ungka 1, Pavia, Iloilo.

The first autopsy was conducted May 2.

Two days later, another autopsy was conducted.

In the second autopsy, Lebaquin reportedly took representative tissue and organ samples, particularly from the lungs and trachea, for histopathological examination.

The first autopsy showed that the victim died of burn injuries.

There were also signs that he had sniffed gasoline.

Police earlier said a certain Allan, 48, of Zone 6, Barangay Ungka 1, Pavia, told investigators that his brother saw what appeared to be a grass fire near the concrete wall of Green Meadows Subdivision around 4:30 a.m. April 29.

Allan’s brother scaled the wall to douse the fire with water.

It was only then that he saw that a human body was burning.

During the investigation, police found a wallet, a power bank, and a mobile phone on the other side of the fence.

The wallet contained a student driver’s license and a vaccination card bearing the name Frank Rois Barbasa.

A further police investigation showed that the 22-year-old Barbasa had also been reported missing.

Barbasa, a graduating nursing student of the University of San Agustin, was from Barangay Punta Tabuc, Roxas City, Capiz, and was temporarily staying at his aunt’s house in Barangay Caingin, La Paz, Iloilo City.