BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—Two men were found dead on Saturday morning (May 6) along a dirt road of an interior village at Santiago City in Isabela province.
The half-naked remains of 24-year-old school teacher Mark Rico Acasio and 18-year-old Daryl Cortez, a city government employee, were found sprawled, each with a gunshot wound on the head, by residents of Barangay (village) Buenavista at 2 a.m., said Senior Supt. Percival Rumbaoa, Santiago City police director.
Two spent shells fired from a cal. 9 mm pistol were found near the bodies.
The victims were last seen riding off in Acasio’s motorcycle moments after the fireworks display at the city hall grounds at Friday midnight (May 5), part of the celebrations of the city’s founding anniversary, said Chief Insp. Redentor Gumaru, Santiago City Station 1 chief.
Acasio had reportedly offered Cortez a ride home to Buenavista.
The motorcycle was found abandoned in Calaocan village.
“Right now, we are looking at vehicle theft as a possible motive for the killings, but we are not discounting other possible angles,” Gumaru said.