KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/09 July) — Alleging the local police underrated the case of a young mother who was found dead here on July 2, a women’s group said they want the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Region 12 to conduct an autopsy on her body.
Ruby Padilla-Sison, provincial chair of Gabriela, said she believes Res Manay Manib, 17, of Barangay Pangao-an in Magpet, North Cotabato, was sexually abused before she was killed.
Police here have only filed a murder case against the primary suspect, Clemente Tuazon Warain.
“Under-rated ang case. Hindi dadalhin ‘yan ng suspect para patayin lang kung wala’ng sexual innuendos. Nakahubad ang babae, bleeding pa ang ari, tapos, murder lang” (The suspect would not bring her along if his only motive was to kill her. The girl was naked, his sexual organ was bleeding, and his crime was murder only)? asked Sison.
Manib is set to be buried on Saturday in Pangao-an.
But Gabriela wanted the NBI to first conduct a thorough post-mortem examination on Manib’s body before her burial to learn how she really died.
The city police here said they used as basis for filing the complaint against Warain the testimonies of at least three primary witnesses, including his mother.
Warain’s mother told Police Officer 2 Conrado Abalos that her son Clemente introduced the victim to them, around 2 a.m., on July 2.
She also saw the two leave the house an hour later. Around 9:30 a.m., also on that day, Manib’s body was found along a creek at the Sandawa Homes Phase 3 here. It bore torture marks and stab wounds in the back.
Police also attached to the complaint the results of the post-mortem examination on Manib’s body which assistant city health officer Dr. Ted Calica conducted on July 2.
The autopsy did not indicate the victim was raped, Abalos said.
“This was the reason why we only filed murder and not murder with rape case against the suspect,” he said. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)
