Cops tagged in abduction, slay of man in Benguet

BAGUIO CITY — Policemen could be involved in the abduction and killing of a 25-year-old man whose headless body was found in a ravine in Tublay town, Benguet province, last month, officials said here on Wednesday.

Police Col. Allen Rae Co, Baguio police chief, said the suspects were members of the drug enforcement unit of the Cordillera regional police office.

Co did not disclose their names but said they had already been disarmed and placed under the custody of the regional police office in Camp Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet.

“We have evidence that the suspects were the ones who kidnapped the victim,” Co said in a press briefing. “We cannot just assume but the general assumption is that they were also responsible for the death of the victim.”

The victim, identified as Harjan Pacyao Lagman of Barangay Irisan here, was reported missing by his family on Nov.11. His headless body was found the next day at Sitio Gulon in Barangay Ambassador, Tublay.

Lagman was identified by his relatives through his clothes, scar, and build. His head is yet to be found.

Citing witnesses’ accounts, the victim’s father said a group of men handcuffed his son before dragging him into a van.

The abduction was recorded by security cameras in Irisan. Footage of the video went viral on social media this week. — Kimberlie Quitasol