The bodies of three men — all with their throats slit — were found dumped in two different locations in Caloocan City before dawn on Wednesday.
The three victims remained unidentified as of this writing, with one of them appearing to be a minor.
Two were found on the sidewalk on Edsa’s northbound lane near General Mascardo Street in Barangay Bagong Barrio. They were discovered around 3:20 a.m. by a Grab driver who got off his vehicle to urinate, according to P01 Dorald Cuyangoan, the Caloocan police officer on the case.
One of them was left with a cardboard sign suggesting a turf war among street gangs and listing the names of persons apparently marked as targets.
“Lugar namin ito, wag kayo dito, susunod na kayo! (This is our territory, keep out, you’re next) Oca, Giboy, Jerome, Carlo, Intsik, Sylex, Daboy, Roniel,” the message scribbled on the cardboard read.
A witness told the police that the two victims were often seen at Balintawak market in Quezon City.
Around 2:45 a.m., another victim who appeared to be in his teens was found along Dagat-dagatan Extension in Barangay 28, said the case investigator, PO1 Mark Julius Pajaron.
Like the two other victims on Edsa, the third fatality’s neck was also slashed. He sported a tattoo on his waist that read “Reymark.”
Residents in the area said the boy was not from their barangay. A security camera recorded a car stopping briefly around 2:45 a.m. at the spot where the body was found.