The bullet-riddled body of a man found on Oct. 2, 2019 in Sitio Cab-asan of mountain Barangay Tagba-o, Cebu City is identified to be that of call center agent Jouie Lee Villagonzalo, 25, from Barangay Sambag 2, Cebu City. |CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police Colonel Gemma Vinluan, the director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), has directed the Talamban Police to deepen its investigation into the death of a call center agent whose bullet-riddled body was found in Barangay Tagba-o on Wednesday morning, October 2, 2019.
In an interview on Thursday, October 3, Vinluan said the investigators on the ground were still clueless as to the motive behind the killing of 25-year-old Jouie Lee Villagonzalo, who was found face down in a remote bushy section of Sitio Cab-asan of the mountain barangay, his feet tied with a rope and his body bearing several gunshot wounds.
Read: Body of unidentified man found in Barangay Tagba-o, Cebu City
“Titignan natin. Hindi pwedeng gawing tapunan and Cebu City ng mga tino-torture at pinapatay ng walang reason. We will look into it. Maaring madaming reason, work-related, personal grudge, pwedeng involvement sa drugs,” said Vinluan.
(We will investigate. We cannot let Cebu City become a dumping ground for tortured and murdered individuals, killed without reason. We will look into it. There are a lot of possible motives including work-related, personal grudge, and even involvement in drugs.)
The CCPO director urged any witnesses to come forth and help the police find the perpetrators to Villagonzalo’s death. She also hoped for the cooperation of Villagonzalo’s father, Louisito, who positively identified his son’s remains.
Read: Body found in Cebu City mountain barangay identified
Except for informing the police that his son was a call center agent and that their family lives in Barangay Sambag 2 in Cebu City, Louisito has shared little about his slain son.
Vinluan said Louisito’s statement will be important in order to know the background of Villagonzalo and the possible motive behind his death
She said that most likely Villagonzalo was dumped in the area after being killed, because Sitio Cab-asan is a mountainous area with few residents to witness any possible crime.
Read: Body found in Tagba-o, Cebu City a salvage victim?
The CCPO chief took this as a challenge to strengthen the security of the mountian barangays since these are the areas with the least police visibility in the city.
She directed the police stations to conduct more patrols in these areas to prevent crimes from happening. /elb