5-year-old caroler found dead, raped in Batangas

A five-year-old girl who went out Christmas caroling was found dead in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, over the weekend.

According to an exclusive report by John Consulta on “24 Oras” on Monday, CCTV footage from Friday, December 19, showed a man in a red shirt leading the young victim into a house.

The victim’s body was discovered inside a sack on Saturday, December 20; authorities later confirmed she had been sexually assaulted.

Additional CCTV footage from Friday showed the suspect carrying a brand-new sack. A separate clip, recorded in the early hours of Saturday, captured movement in the shrubbery—a moment investigators believe shows the suspect disposing of the victim's body.

“Kami po ay naka-receive ng isang ulat sa pagkakadiskubre ng isang katawan ng isang batang babae, kung saan ito na nga po yung napaulat na nawawala,” said Sto. Tomas Police Chief P/Lt. Col. Marlon Cabataña.

(“We received a report regarding the discovery of a young girl’s body, and we confirmed it was the child previously reported missing.”)

On Saturday, authorities arrested the 22-year-old primary suspect—the man seen in the CCTV footage—along with a 33-year-old accomplice.

The primary suspect supposedly confessed to the murder and sexual assault of the child.

“Gumamit, sir, ng pinagbabawal na gamot… Dumating na ang punto na nandoon na sa taas yung bata, iba na yung takbo ng utak namin,” he said, claiming that he and his accomplice raped the girl after she was already dead.

(We were under the influence of illegal drugs... By the time the child was upstairs, we had lost our sense of reason.)

The suspect admitted that he and his accomplice planned the crime.

"Hindi namin po makaya yung kwan ng droga, hindi po namin kaya kontrolin. Kumbaga wala na po kami sa sarili,” he added.

(We couldn't handle the effect of the drugs; we couldn't control it. It was like we weren't ourselves.)

The other suspect declined to comment.

Authorities recovered several sachets of suspected shabu from the suspects and retrieved the victim’s slippers, which had been hidden behind a wall.

The grandfather expressed his devastation over the loss of his granddaughter, a Kinder-1 student.

“Mahal na mahal mong apo ay ganyan ang sasapitin, kaya di ko masabi ang sakit na nararamdaman ko. Hindi ako titigil hangga’t hindi ko makukuha ang katarungan niya,” he said.

(To have a beloved granddaughter suffer such a fate—I cannot describe the pain I feel. I will not stop until I get justice for her.)

Sto. Tomas Police are currently preparing to file charges of rape with homicide and violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act against the suspects.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) reminded parents to ensure children are supervised by an adult while caroling in the streets.—Vince Angelo Ferreras/MCG, GMA Integrated News