3 bodies with gunshot wounds found in banca

THE bodies of three men with gunshot wounds were found in a capsized motorbanca off the coast of Aloguinsan town in southwestern Cebu early yesterday.

As of 6 p.m. yesterday, police have not identified the victims as they bore no identification cards.

Senior Insp. Armando Labora, chief of Aloguinsan Police, said one victim had a gunshot wound to the head while the two others were found with multiple gunshot wounds on their bodies.

PO1 Ronilo Lawas, desk officer of Aloguinsan Police, said all three victims, believed to be between 30 and 40 years old, were clad in black T-shirts and black pants.

Lawas said fisherman Diomedes Alcos saw the overturned blue-and-white motorbanca floating in the Tañon Strait waters between Pinamungajan town in Cebu and Sipaway Island in Negros Occidental at around 2 a.m. yesterday.

Alcos reportedly pulled the motorbanca to shore in Barangay Poblacion, Aloguinsan, without knowing there were bodies under it.

At 4 a.m., couple Sherwen and Meriam Adan saw the motorbanca as they prepared to sail out to sea. With a flashlight, Sherwin checked the banca and found one victim stuck near the engine, another on the starboard (or right-hand side) and the third on the outrigger.

Lawas said crime scene investigators later recovered a .38 caliber revolver with six bullets and five other bullets in a sack placed among the mechanical tools.

Fishermen Jessie Alquizola and Bernie Bansiloy came forward yesterday to report that they saw the same banca with two smaller bancas at around 2 p.m. last Thursday. As they were leaving the area, Alquizola and Bansiloy said they heard several bursts of gunfire.

Lawas said they believed all three victims were from Negros Island. The bodies have been brought to St. Francis Funeral Homes in Carcar City, also in southern Cebu, for autopsy.