Human remains found in Murcia sugarcane field

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — Police are investigating the discovery of unidentified human remains buried in a sugarcane field in Hacienda Bernabe, Barangay Salvacion, Murcia, Negros Occidental, on Friday.

Police Capt. Honey Labaro, chief of the Murcia Municipal Police Station, said a sugarcane worker discovered the remains after tracing a foul odor and seeing bones from the victim’s hand partially exposed from the soil.

Labaro said police could not determine the victim’s gender or identify any injuries because the body was already in an advanced state of decomposition.

“If nobody claims the body, the local government can facilitate the burial, especially if it is already a health hazard,” he said.

Labaro said no missing persons have been reported in the town in recent weeks.

He said police could not yet speculate whether the body was dumped in the area.

Labaro said an autopsy would be necessary to determine the cause of death.

Murcia is a municipality in Negros Occidental, a major sugar-producing province, where agricultural workers frequently traverse remote plantation areas, occasionally leading to delayed discoveries of crimes or fatalities.