Legazpi City — On Monday, February 5, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Legazpi recovered skeletal remains, believed to be those of Eugene Sasota and two minors, in the remote Sitio Tagbac, Barangay Macabugos, Libon, Albay.
After a three-hour climb following a tip from local residents, the NBI spotted said remains on a ravine, unidentifiably decomposed.
“The skeletal remains we retrieved showed signs of scavenging by crows; their skulls were separated, with holes in them. There were small skeletal remains, presumably belonging to children, and one large one,” Agent-in-Charge, NBI Bicol, Atty. Felipe Jimenez Jr. stated.
It can be recalled that on December 27 last year, 46-year-old Sasota, along with two minors accompanying him, went missing.
Fingers are currently pointed at the Concepcion Criminal Gang as the main suspects of the murder, allegedly due to the vengeful motive stemming from their leader, Gilbert Concepcion, who was killed in January, following a near-capture incident last December.
“Based on the information we gathered and with the help of the PNP intelligence unit, after an operation that nearly led to the capture of Gilbert Concepcion, the suspect saw Eugene talking to the police. In retaliation, the gang attacked his family, taking Eugene and the two children, bringing them to the mountain where they were last seen,” Jimenez uttered.
This morning, relatives of the three victims arrived at the NBI office for DNA testing to officially identify the remains, which proved to be difficult due to hastened decomposition caused by exposure.
The NBI reported this as their ninth recovered body out of the 22 confirmed victims of the Concepcion Gang, currently divided into three groups. I Aireen Perol, Kimberly Palenzuela, Kian Kirby Florano
