IN BODY BAGS | The remains of seven family members recovered on Sunday by authorities from a shallow grave in Sitio Lapao, Barangay Karkum, Sapad, Lanao del Norte, are placed in sealed body bags for transport to a funeral home in nearby Kapatagan town. (Photo from the Sapad Municipal Police Station)
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines — A small community in the municipality of Sapad in Lanao del Norte province was shocked on Sunday following the recovery of the remains of seven family members, three of whom were minors, who were found with bullet wounds.
Police on Sunday dug the seven bodies from a shallow grave in Sitio Lapao, Barangay Karkum of Sapad, about 30 kilometers from the town center and in an area that could only be accessed on foot.
All the victims had bullet wounds in the head and the motive for their killings was still being investigated, according to Police Maj. Joanne Navarro, spokesperson of the regional police office in Northern Mindanao, in a radio interview on Monday.
Police Maj. Alibsar Daraba, Sapad police chief, identified the bodies as those of Joselito Gaviola, 54; Joselito’s wife, Marly Gaviola, 50; Joselito’s younger sister Elvie Gaviola Legara, 43; Elvie’s husband, Epifanio Legara; and the Legara couple’s three children, Jopay, 18, Jomar, 16, and Epifanio Jr., 14.
Lost contact
The bodies of the seven family members were found a day after the son of the Gaviolas declared them missing from their hometown Margosatubig in Zamboanga del Sur province.
It was not immediately known why they ended up in Sapad, which is about 120 km from Margosatubig.
The Gaviola couple left Margosatubig at 5 a.m. on Friday, reportedly to work for a new employer in Cagayan de Oro City. But at around noon of the same day, their son lost touch with his parents, according to Police Maj. Jake Capitly, chief of police in Margosatubig.
Failing to contact his parents, the son, whom Capitly requested not to be named for security reasons, went to the police to file his report, assisted by their barangay chair.
“He could no longer contact his parents after lunch on Friday. His parents left Margosatubig around 5 a.m. and took a public utility vehicle to Pagadian City. [The son] was informed that his parents and the Legara family met in Pagadian. They were supposed to go to Cagayan de Oro City to work,” Capitly said.
On Sunday, the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team of Karkum in Sapad noticed a fresh mound in their area and sought police help because they suspected it to be a grave.
With a clearance from Dr. Rowena Agarrado, Sapad municipal health officer, police started digging at noon on Sunday and recovered all the bodies after six hours of digging, said Police Cpl. Mark Lester Ganayo, a personnel of the Sapad town police.
Although all of the victims used to live in Purok Dama de Noche, Sitio Luguimit, Poblacion of Margosatubig, the Legaras had left the town since September last year.
Still in shock
The Gaviolas also used to work in Zamboanga City but also left before the New Year after they were offered better pay elsewhere, according to Mabel Bugarin, a friend of the Gaviola couple in Barangay Sangali in Zamboanga.
Joselito and Marly worked as a baker and nanny, respectively, in a bakery in Sangali and were each paid P5,000 a month while the new employer offered them P7,000 each a month, Bugarin said in an interview over Messenger on Monday.
She also learned that the couple went home to Margosatubig for a New Year’s vacation and expressed shock when told about their death.
Of the seven, Joselito was the first to be identified through his COVID-19 vaccination card issued in Barangay Sangali here.
“The community here in Dama de Noche [of Sangali] are grieving and in shock. These families were kind people. They were struggling but I never heard they had enemies here,” Bugarin said.
She also said that it pained them that local officials were still silent over the death of seven family members from Margosatubig. “We wish there were condemnations and demands for justice, not only from here but also all the way to Malacañang,” she said.
Clearance sought
Police Col. Diomarie Albarico, director of the Zamboanga del Sur police, said they were seeking clearance from the higher office to allow their policemen to assist and escort the family members from Margosatubig to secure the bodies in Lanao del Norte.
“The incident took place far from our area of coverage, so we need clearance and coordination,” Albarico said.
Capitly said he and his team were on their way to Sapad town for coordination with the Sapad police and to assist the Gaviola and Legara families to retrieve the bodies for proper burial.