Police looking at gang war behind brutal slay of 2 Tondo teens

Investigators are considering gang war behind the brutal killing of two 15-year-old men in Tondo, Manila, police said Wednesday.

Interviewed by GMA News Online, Police Captain Henry Navarro, head of the Manila Police District – Homicide Division, said they found a tattoo on the body of one of the victims that is associated with a notorious gang.

“Kino-consider po namin ‘yung gang war,” Navarro said.

“Meron silang mga grupo tulad nitong si Chormel Buenaflor, isa pala siyang miyembro ng Batang City Jail. So tinitignan natin kung meron siyang record ng misdemeanor sa mga adjacent police stations,” he added.

On Monday, the bodies of Carl Justine Banogon and Chormel Buenaflor were found floating on water in an area in Isla Puting Bato, not far from where they lived. They were last seen on the night of January 31.

According to their families, the victims were possibly tortured considering the wounds found on their bodies.

MPD chief Police Brigadier General Leo Francisco said the police on Tuesday conducted "backtracking" on the victims' whereabouts before their disappearance.

“Yesterday may mga backtracking na ginawa mga investigators natin at ini-establish yung time na huli silang nakitang buhay pa,” he told GMA News Online in a text message.

Navarro said the investigators are having a hard determining the victims' last location. “Dahil apparently, sa mga neighborhoods, nandoon lang sila,” he said.

Navarro said the two teenagers were abducted on the same day but in different places and time.

“Hindi sila sabay kinuha. Sabay na araw sila dinukot, pero magkaibang lugar at magkaibang oras, pero magkalapit lang na lugar,” he said.

“Sa aming pagtatanong, [napag-alaman na] magkakilala sila pero hindi sila totally magbarkada,” he added.

Navarro said the manner of how the two were killed is similar. He said their bodies were found at the same place possibly because it was a catch basin of Manila Bay where trash usually piles up.

The Commission on Human Rights said it has deployed a team to conduct an investigation on the killing of the two teenagers. —KBK, GMA News