DOJ chief: Police should explain transfer of Echanis' remains to another funeral parlor

The police should explain why they had to transfer the supposed remains of peasant leader Randall Echanis from one funeral parlor to another, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday.

Anakpawis Party-list earlier said Echanis and a neighbor were killed in Quezon City on Monday. Echanis' wife identified his body and later claimed that police forcibly took the remains from a funeral parlor to bring it to another. 

But police said Echanis was not among the victims of the "stabbing incident," saying identification cards show the two men killed were Manuel Santiago and Louie Tagapia.

"Ordinarily it's the family of the deceased who should determine the funeral arrangements, but here there seems to be a question as to the identity of the deceased," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

"Nonetheless, the police should explain why it was necessary to transfer the body from one funeral parlor to another," he said.

He earlier said he will leave it to the National Bureau of Investigation's forensic investigation division to identify the victim.

Guevarra has ordered an investigation but said they will await confirmation of the victim's identity. Under the AO 35 mechanism, which aims to prosecute politically motivated killings, prosecutors lead a team of investigators composed of law enforcement agents.

The Free Legal Assistance Group has called on Guevarra to direct the NBI to investigate the incident and demanded the police to return Echanis' supposed remains to his family.

Echanis was a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines  and chairman of Anakpawis. —LDF, GMA News