TACLOBAN CITY—A six-year-old girl was found dead on a grassy lot at the village of Limbuhan-guti, Tanauan town in Leyte province around 7 a.m. on Friday (Sept. 4).
The parents of the girl, Micahjane Olimberio, reported her missing on Thursday (Sept. 3).
Capt. Delfin Bardillon, Tanauan police chief, said in an interview with a local radio station that police have taken custody of four men considered as persons of interest in the girl’s disappearance and killing.
Bardillon said he believed the four men would have information about what happened since it was them who told police where the girl’s body was.
Bardillon urged witnesses to come forward and help investigators identify the perpetrators of what he said was a case of rape with homicide.
Tanauan Mayor Pelagio Tecson’s wife, Penelope, urged people to pray for Olimberio and the girl’s family.
“Let us offer a prayer for this little angel Mica that she may rest in peace, and prayers, too, for her family’s strength,” she said in a post on Facebook.
Leyte Board Member Gina Merilo said she was cancelling an unspecified contest and convert the prizes to cash to be given to Olimberio’s family.