Ex-drug offender found dead in piggery

BACOLOD City – Police are probing if the death of a former “drug offender” at Purok Pilit dos, Barangay 6 here yesterday, could be linked to illegal drugs.

The victim was identified as Junelyn Aligada alias “Tata” of the said village.

Police Captain Paul Vincent Pendon, head of Police Station 2, said the victim was found lifeless in an old piggery past 9 a.m.

Pendon said the victim’s relative reported the incident to the police. He said the victim could have been dead for more than eight hours already when her body was found.

Police have yet to determine the injuries of the victim, pending the result of the postmortem examination.

But Pendon said four gunshots were heard in the area on Sunday night, according to some residents but they ignored it, assuming that it was just part of the fireworks at a birthday party nearby.

The area where the victim was found is considered isolated as it is covered with grasses and there were no houses nearby.

Pendon said that it’s possible that the victim met someone in the area and had a discreet transaction.

Prior to that, the victim and her son were together in a computer shop when his mother told him that she will go for a while, according to Pendon.

“Since then, wala na siya dayon nakita,” he added.

Pendon said the victim was previously arrested for a drug offense and was released after she served her sentence in 2018.

Four years later, she was again subjected to a buy-bust operation along with her son.

However, her case for conspiracy in the alleged illegal drug trade was dismissed, while her son was later released and was placed under probation, Pendon said.

“Since then wala na kami ka monitor na ga engage siya (victim) sa illegal drugs,” he added.

Aside from considering the incident as drug-related, Pendon said they will continue to probe the incident to determine other possible angles.

This incident came two days after a shooting incident happened in the area of Police Station 2 last Saturday, injuring a driver of a modernized passenger jeepney.