Gang war may be behind the abduction and murder of two teenagers in Tondo, according to police investigating the case.
Police Captain Henry Navarro of the Manila Police District-Homicide Division said in an interview with GMA News Online that the tattoo of a gang was found in the body of one of the teenagers, both 15-years-old.
“Kino-consider po namin ‘yung gang war (we consider gang war),” said Navarro.
“Meron silang mga grupo tulad nitong si Buenaflor, isa pala siyang miyembro ng Batang City Jail. So tinitingnan natin kung meron siyang record ng misdemeanor sa mga adjacent police stations,” he added.
(They have groups like Buenaflor, who is a member of the Batang City Jail. So we are looking to see if he has a record of misdemeanor at adjacent police stations.)
The bodies of Carl Justine Banogon and Chormel Buenaflor were found floating in the sea on Isla Puting Bato, near the place where the two live.
Earlier, it was reported that the two were last seen alive on the night of January 31.
According to the relatives of the victims, the two may have been tortured first based on the wounds of their bodies.
MPD chief Police Brigadier General Leo Francisco on Tuesday said they were conducting “backtracking” where the two went before they disappeared.
Gang war possible motive behind killing of two teenagers in Tondo
According to Navarro, the two were abducted on the same day in separate places and times.
“Hindi sila sabay kinuha. Sabay na araw sila dinukot, pero magkaibang lugar at magkaibang oras, pero magkalapit lang na lugar.”
(They were not taken at once. They were abducted on the same day, but at different places and at different times, but only in close proximity.)
Navarro said the two knew each other but they were not really that close.
But, he said, the method of killing the two is similar. According to him, the bodies of the two were found in the same place because it was a catch basin of Manila Bay where garbage was washed away by the river.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights has allegedly sent a team to conduct its own investigation into the killing of the two teenagers.