Skeletal remains found in North Cotabato sugar plantation

MLANG, North Cotabato, Philippines — A group of sugarcane harvesters on Wednesday stumbled on a shallow grave containing the remains of what could be a victim of summary execution, the police reported Thursday.

Inspector Rolando Dillera, town police chief, said the skeletal remains found in the sugarcane plantation in Barangay (village) Kalunasan here included the unidentified victim’s skull, which bore a bullet hole.

Dillera said the presence of a spool of packing tape near the remains boosted police theory of a summary execution.

But he said investigators believed that the victim might have been killed elsewhere and was only buried in the area.

“The people there said they haven’t heard gunshots for a long time already,” he said.

Wednesday’s find was the second in recent months in Calunasan.

In October, an unidentified man was also found dead inside a rubber plantation owned by a village official.

Barangay Calunasan serves as a boundary between this town and Kidapawan City.

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