Police expect kin to claim on August 26 dead man dumped in Balamban

Police secure the area where they found the body of Armando Oppus in Balamban town on August 26. | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police will be expecting a family member to claim on Monday, August 26, the body of Armando Oppus, who was found dead four days ago along the road in Barangay Cansomoroy, Balamban town in western Cebu.

Police Major Christian Torres, Balamban Police chief, told CDN Digital in a phone interview that a person claiming to be the “Uncle” of the victim  called through the phone around 9 a.m. today (August 24), saying he would be claiming the body of Oppus on Monday.

Read more: Man found tied up, dead in Balamban

However, Torres told CDN Digital in a phone interview on August 24 that the uncle could only claim the body if he could be able to present any documents from the parents of Oppus granting permission of relatives to claim the body.

“Ang protocol man gud sa punerarya, adto gyud sa nearest kin (The funeral parlor’s protocol is to release the body only to the nearest kin),” said Torres.

It has been four days since the body of Oppus was found last August 20 with multiple gunshot wounds in his body, but the police are still looking for more evidence that can help them to identify and arrest perpetrators of the crime.

Oppus was identified through the passport and other identification cards found inside his burnt vehicle.

He said there had been no attempts from the immediate family members to claim the body until that call of the “uncle” of the victim to be there on Monday.

Torres said that they had three persons of interest in the case including a police corporal, who reportedly went on absent without official leave (AWOL).

He said that according to his police counterparts in Davao, that the victim was with these three persons in Davao and was also with them when the victim arrived in Cebu on July 28.

Torres said that according to the Davao Police that the the victim and his three companions left the city on July 27 when the investment company, allegedly co-founded by Oppus and two of his alleged companions, were allegedly found out to be an investment scam.

Read more: Balamban Police: Man found dead in Brgy Cansomoroy ‘wanted’ for estafa

Torres said that for now, they would be relying only on the evidence that they had to locate those responsible for the crime since no witness had come forward to help them with the investigation of the case./dbs