CEBU, Philippines - Police yesterday filed charges in the Talisay City Prosecutor's Office against a tricycle driver for the murder of a 54-year-old man.
Richard Sanchez Mandal, 34, a resident of Fidel Bas St., barangay Lower Mohon, Talisay City has been alleged to have killed Alberto Navarro, 54.
Navarro, who was reported missing since May 16, was found dead just last Friday inside an abandoned unfinished building in San Roque St., barangay Lipata, Minglanilla town.
Although already in an advanced state of decomposition, the victim's brother Galen, 41, was able to identify Alberto's remains based on the beaded necklace still hanging around the neck area of the skeletal remains.
Alberto, a resident of barangay Lawaan I, Talisay City, was reported missing to the city police last May 23 by his nephew Phoenix Zabala when his family started to worry when he had not come home for days already.
Zabala told police that on May 16, the victim was supposed to pay their telephone bill, but had not returned since.
Based on the investigation of the police, Mandal was the person the victim was last seen with.
It was Galen's persistent questioning of Mandal that led the police to theorize that the tricycle driver could have possibly known the whereabouts of Alberto especially that he was reportedly trying to evade Galen.
There was an atmosphere of suspicion when Mandal immediately left the abandoned building in Lipata where he lived prior to his transfer to Talisay.
Later, police received reports that Mandal was seen digging a hole inside the abandoned property.
With this new information, police then went to Mandal's former residence and started to dig under the flight of stairs where Mandal was reportedly seen by witnesses digging a hole.
There police and Galen saw skeletal remains believed to be that of Alberto's.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Mandal in Talisay City.
According to the investigation, Mandal allegedly beat the victim's nape with a piece of wood following an altercation.
When the victim died, Mandal then buried him.
Galen believed that Mandal had a relationship with his brother, a reported homosexual, for years. That day, Mandal was said to be in a bad mood reportedly caused by an argument with his wife.