Drug war: 4 men tagged as suspects are missing

LUCENA CITY—Relatives of four missing drug suspects in Calauag town in Quezon province have started looking for their kin outside their community, hoping that their search would not end up in a funeral parlor about 100 kilometers away.

This after three severed heads and body parts were found in Mulanay and General Luna towns on Monday and Tuesday.

Chief Insp. Michael Encio, Calauag police chief, said police are puzzled by the discovery of the burnt heads and body parts in separate locations in Mulanay and General Luna, which are 48 kilometers apart.

Encio said the missing—Joel de la Torre, 25, of Barangay Viñas; and Augosto Leron, 43; Gilbert Pariño Alvarez, 26; and his brother, Gerald, 24, all of Barangay Doña Aurora—were on the local police’s watch list of illegal drug users.

Encio said the Alvarez brothers are tricycle drivers while Leron is a bus driver. Dela Torre, police said, is a helper and driver in a copra production business.

Their relatives went to the Calauag police station on Monday to report that they went missing on Sunday.

In Mulanay on Monday, police found three heads and a lower limb in different locations in the village of Cambuga.

The village is 7 km away from the town center and near the boundary of San Narciso town. Mulanay is more than 90 km from Calauag.

Senior Insp. Bonna Abuyan-Obmerga, Mulanay police chief, said the heads and the lower limb are kept in a local funeral parlor.

On Tuesday morning, a burnt headless body was found in General Luna town.

Senior Insp. Rolando de Luna, General Luna police chief, said residents found the body in Barangay San Vicente at 7 a.m.

“Apparently, the body part was related to the discovery of three burnt heads in Mulanay,” De Luna said.

Encio said as of Tuesday afternoon, relatives of the missing persons have yet to see the heads and body parts in Mulanay and General Luna for possible identification.

Senior Supt. Antonio Yarra, Quezon police chief, said investigators were checking if the disappearance of the men in Calauag and the discovery of the heads and body parts in Mulanay and General Luna were drug-related.

After more than two months of the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs, records from the Quezon police showed that 14 suspected key players in the local drug trade were killed in clashes with policemen while at least 27 suspected drug pushers were gunned down by unidentified attackers.

Thousands of drug suspects had surrendered to authorities following the escalation of the war on drugs launched by President Duterte, who promised during the campaign to eradicate drug syndicates even if it required the killing of suspects.