MANILA, Philippines — The belongings of missing UP College of Law professor Ryan Oliva that had been found along the seashore in Occidental Mindano may have drifted ashore from Batangas where the lawyer was last seen, police said Monday.
Mimaropa police chief Brig. Gen. Pascual Muñoz Jr. said this based on their initial investigation on Oliva‘s bag that was recovered along the seashore in Barangay Balikyas in Looc town on Friday.
“Yung mga gamit ay nakita doon sa Looc, sa Lubang Island. Base sa aming investigation, there is a possibility na naanod ‘yun from Batangas,” he said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
(His belongings were found in Looc, in Lubang Island. Based on our investigation, there is a possibility that it was drifted from Batangas.)
Muñoz said the items have been turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). He added that the Police Regional Office (PRO) in Mimaropa is working with the CIDG and the PRO-Calabarzon for further investigation.
These initial findings of the police match those of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that is also leading the search for Oliva, who had been missing since November 21. The NBI also said that the professor was last seen at a resort in Batangas.