Dead man found in Banate remains unidentified

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Police walked back on its earlier statement that they have identified the dead person found in Banate, Iloilo on July 13.

Lieutenant Renzo Martinez, Banate police chief, said they reached out to two families who could identify the body.

The police earlier identified the dead man after his sister, who is currently detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Pototan, Iloilo for a drug-related offense, claimed that the body was that of her brother.

Police reached out to the woman after a widened follow-up investigation.

A resident found the body Wednesday morning.

The Banate PNP coordinated with other police stations about any report of missing persons, but they have yet to get positive answers.

“Because the body was heavily-tattooed, we surmised that it is possible that he could have been detained,” Martinez said.

They then sent photographs of the cadaver to the BJMP until someone recognized that he was previously detained there.

But another report claimed that he could be the same person who was collared by Iloilo City Police Station 3 operatives.

The person was apprehended in 2019 for threatening residents with a knife.

As of Thursday evening, both families have yet to personally see the cadaver for a possible positive identification.

The naked body has no gunshot or stab injury. But a hematoma was found on the side of his right eye indicating that he could have been struck by a hard object.

He also had a wound on his left cheek.

There are no witnesses yet to suggest if a vehicle was seen dumping the body in the area.

“But we’re checking CCTV footages from nearby barangays,” he said.

It was surmised that the victim died less than 12 hours since he was discovered.