A 12-year-old boy who was missing since Sunday was found dead in Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan town, northern Cebu.
His naked body was dumped in a grassy area.
Police identified the victim as John David Adiano, a second year high school student of Lugon National High School.
His hands were bound and his mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth apparently to muffle his cries for help.
Police arrested a suspect, the boy’s brother-in-law, Alberto Hermosa, 28, who was identified by a deaf-mute witness as the one who struck the victim with a piece of wood last Sunday.
The witness told police with the help of his mother who served as his interpreter that he tried to stop Hermosa, but got punched in the face. The witness had bruises in his arms, police said.
Hermosa, a habal-habal or motorcycle taxi driver, denied killing or physically harming the boy.
The driver admitted scolding his young brother-in-law for refusing his request to watch over his son that day. Hermosa said he got angry with John David’s refusal because it meant he could not drive.
John David went missing at noon on Sunday.
A 12-year-old neighbor said she saw John David standing on a grassy lot a few meters from their house.
She told him to go home as his parents have been looking for him, but the boy allegedly ran away.
The girl then went to John David’s mother and told her his whereabouts.
They sought the help of the police before going to the place where the girl last saw John David.
The victim’s body was later found beneath the bushes.
Police took the arrested brother-in-law to the funeral parlor where he was positively identified by the witness.
The boy’s remains will be subjected to an autopsy.
PO3 Raymond Pepito said the body was already decomposing, making it difficult to see whether there were signs of injuries.
John David was the fifth of six siblings.
His parents were still in shock and unable to speak with the police.
Daanbantayan police are preparing to file a complaint against Hermosa.