Rotting corpse found in Digos corn farm

DIGOS CITY, Philippines – The decomposing body of a still unidentified woman was found in a cornfield here Wednesday night as police authorities were busy stepping up security measures ahead of Digos City’s founding anniversary on Sept. 8, the authorities said.

Senior Superintendent Michael John Dubria, intelligence chief of the Southern Mindanao police office, on Thursday said he immediately dispatched plainclothes policemen to determine the identity of the woman–who might also be a rape victim–and find the perpetrator.

“Rape is already a heinous crime, killing the victim makes it (worse),” a visibly angry Dubria said following the discovery of the cadaver late Wednesday.

Superintendent Querubin Manalang, acting city police chief, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the victim, estimated to be between 30-35 years old and about 5 feet in height, was found inside the Dalumpines corn plantation after curious Igpit residents tried to trace the source of a foul smell that has been hovering in the air for days.

They found the rotting body some two meters from the main village road, he said.

“She was wearing a [dark] blouse and (denim) pants and her underwear was pulled down,” Manalang said.

Dubria said based on the report of Scene of the Crime Operatives, who conducted autopsy on the victim’s body, the incident might have happened more than two weeks ago.