Candoni seeks justice for slain teen

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — Mayor Ray Ruiz has directed the Candoni Municipal Police Station in Negros Occidental to conduct a thorough and urgent investigation into the death of a 13-year-old girl in Barangay Poblacion West on Monday.

“We are deeply saddened and outraged by the tragic death of Rica Grace Simple,” Ruiz said in a statement, as he strongly condemned this brutal act.

Ruiz said they are committed to ensuring those responsible are held fully answerable under the law.

“The loss of a child is a pain no family and no community should ever bear. Justice will be served,” he said.

Ruiz said they are awaiting autopsy results to establish the facts and guide their next legal steps.

“This is not merely the loss of a life; it is the unjust loss of a future filled with promise,” the mayor said.

He expressed his condolences and prayers to the family and assured support by facilitating the delivery of immediate financial and welfare assistance.

“Let us pray for the eternal repose of Rica Grace, for the strength of her family, and for the swift delivery of justice,” he said.

Ruiz appealed to the public to remain calm and refrain from spreading unverified information on social media, out of respect for the grieving family and to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.

He urged anyone with relevant information to immediately coordinate with authorities.

The victim was found dead with injuries to the forehead in a sugarcane field Monday night, a day after she failed to return home after her mother asked her to buy ice at a sari-sari store in Barangay Haba on Sunday.

Police said they could not yet determine whether there was sexual abuse pending the autopsy results.