Body found in Dumangas river identified

By Jennifer P. Rendon

ILOILO CITY — Police have identified the body recovered from a river in Sitio Calubihan, Barangay Bantud Fabrica, Dumangas, Iloilo, on the afternoon of July 29.

Maj. Kenn Albert Lepsia, Dumangas police chief, said the family claimed the body of the 46-year-old unmarried man from Dingle, Iloilo, on Aug. 4.

Lepsia said he could not provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the man’s death at the family’s request.

The family believed his death was accidental and declined an autopsy.

The family waited to claim the body until the victim’s sister, his next of kin, arrived from Manila.

The victim was believed to have been last seen alive the week before his body was found.

However, he had not been reported missing.

The man’s face and body were already bloated when a 20-year-old motorist found him at about 1:07 p.m. July 29.

The motorist, identified only as “John,” of Barangay Rosario, Dumangas, said he was traveling to Iloilo City when he saw what appeared to be a person floating near the riverbank.

John immediately notified the duty sentry of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6 Technical Support Company based in Barangay Bantud.