Superintendent Manuel Bringas, chief of the Isabela provincial police office’s plans and operations branch, said policemen and volunteers had difficulty in removing the bodies from a 4-meter-deep grave because they had been encased in concrete.
Bringas said relatives of the victims later identified them as Gabriel Tenio, 29, Noel Te-od, 18, and Johnny Languit, 19, all residents of Pinukpuk in Kalinga province, about 93 kilometers from this town.
Aster Mamauag-Caruso, a relative of one of the victims, said they had been looking for the three men since May 3.
Police said the victims’ relatives were able to identify them through their clothes.
Bringas said investigators have yet to identify any suspect.
The bodies were taken to Funeraria Carbonel in Cauayan City, also in Isabela.