After checking in at lodging house: Girl with radioman later found dead

CEBU – A 17-year-old girl was found dead inside a room of a lodging house in Balamban town yesterday morning after checking in with a radio broadcaster Friday evening.

PO3 Celso Diaz of Balamban Police Station said Severino Ngujo, owner of Oponganon’s Lodging House located in barangay Baliwagan, Balamban town, informed them about the discovery of the girl’s body.

The lifeless body of the girl, a resident of sitio Awom, barangay Duangan in Balamban, was found kneeling near the bed in Room 2 around 10 a.m.

A set of shoelaces was found around her neck tied to the baluster of the ceiling. Diaz said the shoelaces were from the shoes of the girl.

Ngujo told police that he and his personnel heard several unanswered cell phone calls and text messages inside the room. This prompted them to open the door with their own standby key.

Balamban Municipal Medico Legal Officer Aurora Bendebel, who autopsied the girl’s body, said the girl had died of asphyxia or loss of breath due to strangulation.

Bendebel said there may be no sexual contact between the girl and her companion as she was having her monthly period.

Ngujo told police that the girl had checked into the lodging house with radio broadcaster Cesar Montenegro, a resident of barangay Pondol, past 8 p.m. last Friday.

Montenegro, 40, is a well-known broadcaster in western part of Cebu being the anchorman of Radyo Natin FM program called “Baranggayan.” He is also the marketing manager of the radio station, which is based in Balamban.

SPO4 Marcial Montebon and PO2 Hanibal Larida invited Montenegro for questioning shortly before noon yesterday.

Montenegro was however released by the police following the interrogation but has signified his cooperation in their investigation into the case.

Police investigator Rolando Navarro said so far, they have not found any angle of foul play in the girl’s death, saying that she may have committed suicide out of jealousy.

But Navarro said before the incident, there were witnesses who saw Montenegro and the girl having an argument last Friday in barangay Aliwanay, where they were recruiting house helpers to work in Cebu City.

He said the girl was even seen grabbing Montenegro’s cellular phone and reading its messages during their argument.

When the police got hold of the girl’s cellular phone inside the room of the lodging house, they saw 30 messages with lewd languages allegedly from another woman linked to Montenegro.

When interviewed by Banat News, Montenegro however denied having an affair with the girl.

Before the incident, Montenegro, who is married, said the girl sought his help through his radio program to look for six house helpers for Cebu City. He admitted being with her in barangay Alwanay early morning Friday.

He said the girl was overreacting to the text messages from some of his friends and radio listeners.

“I advised her not to be scandalous since those were my listeners, she is actually assuming that we were lovers but I only consider her as a daughter,” Montenegro said.

He said he and the girl checked into the lodging house past 8 p.m. Friday but he immediately left for his radio program.

He returned to the lodging house past 10 p.m. with his 14-year-old son after he received a text message from the girl telling him to bring her paracetamol as she was having menstrual pains.

After giving her the tablets, Montenegro said he immediately left.

Montenegro said he is willing to undergo a lie detector test to erase doubts on the veracity of his statements. — /LPM (THE FREEMAN)