Trying to understand murder of 3 Besao men

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

BESAO, Mountain Province -- Why did the murderer/s kill the three hunters from Barnagay Agawa of this town in a gory manner?  Their  throats were slashed, bodies hacked and shot while the sexual organ of one was cut., They were stripped naked and their bodies left to rot?

It was on May 27 when three hunters from Agawa, Besao were found dead and rotting near the Nakanga Creek at  Baklingayan, Tubo, Abra  by a hunter from Baklingayan who reported what he saw at the Tubo Municipal police station which in turn reported the incident to Besao police.

The three were identified as Jansen “Ayban” Gabaen, Ronnie Macayba and Pedro Sauyen, all of Agawa.

They reportedly left from home to get raw materials to make ugat (woven fish basket) in the mountains and fish for “dalit” (eel). They never got back home within a week till they were discovered dead on May 27 at a mountain called “Pagpag” where Nakanga Creek is found.

The victims' throats were slashed, we surmise to make sure the victims are dead and will not tell tales of who killed them.

Another may be to send a warning to Besao folks of death if they venture in the area. 

Among the important facts is to look at the location where the crime happened and the surrounding facts around it.

One reported fact is that the victims went to fish as confirmed by presence of “dalit” (eel) in the sack they brought along with them.

The “dalit” were not having been taken by the killer and left in the sack lying in the forest where the crime was done.

As police investigation revealed, the bodies were found in three sites within the premises of the Nakanga River where they were found. Nakanga Creek is a common fishing ground and peripheries a common hunting ground of villages nearby including  Agawa of Besao and sitios Baklingayan Taleb, and Datalan of barangay Tabakda of Tubo Abra.

Near the Nakanga creek is the village of Taleb, composedly mostly of villagers who come from northern Sagada particularly Aguid and Fidelisan. Datalan locates most of the people coming from nearby Agawa. And Baklingayan being near Belwang, Sadanga is inhabited mostly by people from Belwang.

The fishing and hunting grounds are a collective resource ground and communities concerned know that. As common fishing ground, it means communities nearby enjoy the fishing site and gather fish as they traditionally did.

But why were the victims killed in an area where communities concerned usually go to fish?

Within the week, it must have been that their families were used to them leaving their homes for quite some time for some days that they didn’t look for them till they usually return home. And were not able to so in May.  

At the moment and pending investigation of the case, we can only look at the manner of how the victims were killed and location where they were found.  

There is always a reason why men do crimes against the law, against established customary practices, the law of God and against peace and order practices.

While it is an established fact that the three men were killed and the act done against the commandment of God and of the law of man, and that the murderer should be penalized for the crime he/they did, this column tries to understand the cause of the killing.

There is always a reason why a man commits a crime. Aside from other reasons, they could be moved by any of the seven deadly sins- greed, envy, anger, lust, pride, or gluttony. Anger could have been a motive to commit murder in this particular incident.

The manner the men were killed speaks of anger, unless the killer is insane.

There must be a missing link to the crime. Did the killer/s want to send a message?

We came to know the suspect was from Baklingayan of Barangay Tabakda and members of the village of Baklingayan were the ones who reported his name to the municipal police station who in turn filed information for murder allegedly committed by the suspect before the fiscal’s office at Bangued, Abra.

The suspect is still at large and it is now up to the villagers to let the  suspect surrender as collective responsibility of a cultural community to do what is culturally right and morally right.

We are faced with other questions. Were the victims separated from each other when they were killed? Were they huddled together and taken by surprise?

The suspect has not yet surrendered so the motive of the suspect or suspects in murdering the victims is not known. Meanwhile. families and relatives of the latter are crying for justice.