SIXTY more unclaimed bodies of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City are set to be buried this coming Friday.

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Gregorio Catapang Jr., who replaced controversial prison chief Gerald Bantag, revealed this development over the weekend.

Last Friday, 60 cadavers were buried during a simple ceremony at the NBP cemetery. They were part of the 176 unclaimed bodies of inmates discovered in NBP-accredited Eastern Funeral Services.

At the same time, Catapang disclosed that the corpses of 40 inmates would not be included in the mass burial as investigations over their real causes of death remain underway.

“I think (the 40 bodies) will still be autopsied. We are still waiting for word from their relatives if they will claim it or not,” Catapang said.

The discovery of the cadavers stemmed from the mystery-shrouded death of middleman Jun Villamor, who supposedly relayed to self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial the order to assassinate broadcaster Percy Lapid.

Bantag was preventively suspended for 90 days over the death of Villamor.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun said Villamor died of suffocation after a plastic bag was placed over his head.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Hector Lawas