Skeletons of 5 people exhumed from common grave in Lanao del Sur

COTABATO CITY — Local executives and police investigators are working together to identify the five individuals whose skeletal remains were dug up by soldiers and policemen last Monday, May 11, from a single spot in Barangay Dilimbayan, Maguing, Lanao del Sur. 

The skeletal remains of the five unidentified individuals were unearthed by personnel from the Maguing Municipal Police Station, members of a police forensic unit and soldiers from the Army’s 55th Infantry Battalion after residents in Barangay Dilimbayan reported the discovery early Monday.

Maranao villagers reportedly first found human bones protruding from the ground at a site in Barangay Dilimbayan following heavy rains in the area last week.

Local executives in Lanao de Sur told reporters on Friday, May 15, that stories have been circulating claiming that, a couple of years ago, five men were brought to the area by an armed group, executed one by one and buried together at the site.

The five individuals were reportedly abducted by violent religious extremists from another area, brought to Barangay Dilimbayan, then executed gangland-style and buried together.

Col. Ceasar Cabuhat, Lanao del Sur provincial police director, along with Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. and municipal officials in Maguing, are coordinating efforts to identify the five victims.

Local executives, soldiers and policemen immediately buried the recovered skeletal remains at the Frankfort Public Cemetery in nearby Amai Manabilang town in Lanao del Sur, near Bukidnon province in Region 10.