Missing Marinduque man found dead in Oriental Mindoro

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — A 48-year-old man who went missing while swimming off the coast of Gasan, Marinduque, was found dead on Monday, authorities confirmed.

Armando Sapunto, a resident of Barangay Pangi (Little Pangi), was last seen around 5 p.m. on April 30 along the shoreline of Gasan town.

He was reportedly wearing a black jersey when he disappeared, prompting the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to launch a search and rescue operation.

Sapunto’s body was later discovered along the shoreline of Barangay Zone 1 in Pola, Oriental Mindoro.

READ: Coast Guard tightens watch in Occidental Mindoro

Police Captain Lily G. Nicolas, public information officer of the Marinduque Police Provincial Office, said the Coast Guard Sub-Station in Gasan was informed of the discovery shortly after midnight on Monday through coordination with the Pola Municipal Police Station.

The victim was identified by his family through photographs.

At around 7 a.m. on Monday, personnel from the Coast Guard and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) of Gasan, along with the victim’s relatives, retrieved the body in Pola.

The remains were examined by Municipal Health Officer Dr. Pauline J. Cabaya before being transported back to Gasan later that day.

The Coast Guard had earlier appealed to the public for information that could help locate Sapunto while search operations were ongoing./coa