The Honda City car of lawyer Sarah Cabrera-Calipayan was found at the parking lot of the Banilad Town Center in Barangay Banilad, Cebu City at around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, about eight hours after she allegedly went missing.
But the lady lawyer was nowhere to be found.
Police investigators are looking for footages of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera to unlock the mystery behind Calipayan’s disappearance.
Calipayan is the wife of lawyer Jamaal James Calipayan, the chief of staff of Cebu Sixth District Representative Jonas Cortes.
In his Facebook post, Jamaal said the last time he was able to receive a text message from his wife was at around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, saying the latter was on her way home.
“(But) she has not come home and her cellphone cannot be reached. It should’ve taken 30 mins only,” said Jamaal.
“All our calls have been unanswered. By 1 a.m., calls were dropped. By 1:30 a.m. the subscriber could not be reached. That would mean that her phone was not simply turned off, or there was no signal. It means the SIM card or the battery was removed,” he added.
Jamaal said she proceeded to his wife’s office near the Ayala Business Park in Cebu City at around 2 a.m.
The parking area logbook, he said, indicated that she went out at 6:28 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We need your help to look for her. We have put out an alarm call to the police at Cebu City. Please do help us to look for her,” Jamaal said.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu Province Chapter called on police investigators to do their best to locate Calipayan “alive, well, and healthy.”
“I am saddened with the news about Atty. Sarah Cabrera- Calipayan. Atty. Sarah, or Aya, to her friends is a sweet and kind person. Her personality allows all person she met and easily became friends with her,” said lawyer Mundlyn Misal-Martin, president of the IBP Cebu Province Chapter.
“She and her husband Atty. James are our Chapter members, and have been very supportive of the Chapter activities. We call to all the members of the legal profession to help, in whatever way they can, (be observant and to report if they find any suspicious activity and to use social media to share information about this issue) and to pray that Atty.
Aya will return to us in safety. We all wish for a positive results,” she added.