ILOILO – At a forested area in Barangay Damilisan, Miag-ao town, a 27-year-old police officer was found dead yesterday.
The body of Patrolman Marvin Del Castillo, a resident of Sara town and assigned at the San Joaquin police station, was discovered by residents around 10:30 a.m.
According to Police Captain Marvin Buenavista, Miag-ao police chief, the victim had a gunshot wound to the left side of his head.
Beside him was his service firearm, a .9mm pistol, Buenavista told Panay News.
An empty shell of the same caliber was also recovered from the crime scene.
Is this a case of murder of suicide?
Buenavista said they would wait for the findings of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) first.
Del Castillo was last seen parking his motorcycle around 9 a.m. on Monday near the area where his body was discovered.
Residents told the police they became suspicious when they saw the motorcycle still parked the following day (yesterday).
Del Castillo was stationed in San Joaquin for six months. He was also set to undergo Basic
Internal Security Operations Course (BISOC) in the area this week.
Meanwhile, Police Lieutenant Dionisio Estacio, San Joaquin police chief, said Del Castillo was off duty on Monday morning, and that around 8 a.m. he left the station onboard his motorcycle.
“I did not notice anything unusual to his actions that day,” Estacio said. “He was dedicated to his work. Kung oras ng trabaho, masipag naman at wala naman siyang nasabing problema niya.”
Del Castillo was reportedly renting a room in San Joaquin with his live-in partner./PN
