Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos has tasked the Philippine National Police to verify reports on the spate of killings and abductions following the high incidence of photos and video footages circulating on social media.
Abalos ordered PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. to verify these incidents, which have been stirring public alarm amid the reopening of schools.
“I just want to make sure ano ang tama nito; are these true, are these fictitious. So, I’m just waiting for that report,” Abalos said.
“I’ll have to see the report to ensure that they are actionable as there were some that were reported years ago, months ago,” he added.
Abalos also said that upon assuming his post in July, enhancing police visibility on the streets was his marching order.
To recall, the PNP dismissed rumors that a serial killer and members of a criminal group aboard a white van are allegedly behind the series of reported killings and disappearances of several individuals.
“If we will look into the circumstances on the discovery of cadavers and the reported abduction of people who were later found dead, we do not see any serial killer here because different people and motives are involved,” said PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo.
“We also do not have reported incidents of a white van being used in abducting people,” she added.
Recently, police found four bodies, with multiple gunshot wounds in their bodies, inside an abandoned car in Rodriguez, Rizal, while a 29-year-old woman was also found dead inside her apartment unit.
A video of a 25-year-old man being abducted by a group of men in a gasoline station in Taal, Batangas also made the rounds online. He was later found dead in Quezon province with his head covered in tape while his hands tied up. He sustained gunshot wounds in the head and back.