Village officials deny finding bodies of child rapists

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay officials in Marawi City denied yesterday having found the bodies of four men allegedly executed after confessing to raping and killing a 13-year-old girl last week in the city, a police official said.

Sr. Supt. Agustin Tello, Lanao del Sur police provincial director, said the officials issued a certification to attest that there was no body found behind an abandoned hospital on the outskirts of the city as reported to them on Aug. 17 and 18.

Sr. Supt. Alex Tagum of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) had directed investigators to exert all efforts to locate the relatives of the victim to confirm or deny the death of Jabbar Macacua, Elias Pimping, Salman Sambitory and Jalil Sani.

The CIDG is conducting an investigation after the alleged execution of the suspects was reported in The STAR.

Tagum said the four were taken into custody a day after the alleged rape, but were released after a 36-hour period lapsed with no charges filed.

The four allegedly raped the Maranaw girl and set her family’s house on fire while her parents were attending a Muslim prayer congregation in Barangay Basak Malutlut last Aug. 14.  

Tagum said they have yet to find proof of the killing of the suspects.

He also noted that the alleged sexual assault on the girl was not confirmed due to the absence of a medico-legal examination report.

“We are not closing this investigation but as of now, we can’t find proof that the four suspects were really killed,” Tagum said.

Another police official, who asked not to be named, said the release of the Macacua, Pimping, Sambitory and Sani was based on verbal instruction of a local prosecutor to the local police in the absence of a formal complaint.

“The local police decided to release the suspects for fear of violating the rights of the detained individuals,” Tagum said.

He said the four could have gone into hiding for fear of reprisal from the family and relatives of the victim.

The suspects were reportedly spirited out of the city jail by a group to be taken to Bayang town, the hometown of Vice Gov. Haroun Al-Rasid Lucman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The girl was reported related by blood to Lucman.

The suspects reportedly admitted setting the house on fire to cover up evidence of their misdeeds.

On the other hand, local officials and village elders claimed the families of the four suspects had volunteered their execution.