3 'salvage' victims found in Manila, QC

At least three victims of suspected summary execution ("salvaging")were found in separate areas in Manila and Quezon City before dawn Friday. Police said they are still looking into whether the incidents, where the victims were found between 1:30 a.m. and shortly before 5 a.m., were connected. "Pinag-aaralan natin ngayon kung konektado [ang mga insidente]. Puspusan ang pag-imbestiga natin diya," Metro Manila police director Chief Superintendent Allan Purisima said in an interview on dzBB radio. The first body was found around 1:30 a.m. along A. Bonifacio Street in Amoranto village in Quezon City, according to radio dzBB's Roland Bola. Initial reports showed the first body bore stab wounds in the chest, possibly caused by an ice pick. The face was wrapped with duct tape. Witnesses said they saw at least three men dump the body from a maroon van. The report said the body was wrapped in a garbage bag and placed in a sack. A second body was found at the northbound part of Quezon Avenue near corner Cordillera Street, radio dzBB's Manny Vargas reported. The body was placed in a sack and was discovered around 2:30 a.m. by a roving security guard, who at first thought it was just garbage. The victim also bore stab wounds in the back and chest, possibly from an ice pick. A concrete nail was embedded in the head. Some tattoos were also found on the victim's body that was bound with tape. The victim was in a T-shirt and shorts. "Nagro-roving ako noon. Nang makita ko, akala ko basura. Nagtawag ako ng scavenger at ang sabi nya, 'Sir parang tao'," the guard said. The third body was found in Manila's Sampaloc district, along Laong Laan Street, radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported. The body was placed in a black garbage bag, wrapped in packaging tape. — LBG, GMA News