(Eagle News) — Two have been arrested over the killing of two children in Bulacan on May 12, the Philippine National Police said.
According to the PNP, Romeo Astelero Ruzon confessed to the killing of an 11-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy whose bodies were found in a dense forest in San Jose del Monte.
A lab examination confirmed that the 11-year-old girl had been raped, the PNP said.
The PNP said Ruzon initially implicated someone else but later retracted his statement and implicated his 16-year-old relative.
It said the minor later admitted his involvement and also executed an extra-judicial confession.
“Matibay ang mga leads at ebidensiya na hawak ng mga imbestigador natin na posibleng mag turo sa salarin. Hindi titigil ang PNP hangga’t hindi nakakamit ang hustisya sa kasong ito,” PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar said.
According to the PNP, the bodies of the children were discovered by police shortly before noon, acting on a tip from citizens.
The children, both residents of Gumaoc East, had been reported missing since Tuesday, May 11.
The PNP said both victims’ faces were believed bashed with a rock causing their deaths.
The police later recovered a blood-stained rock, a wooden stick and a rubber strap cut from a tire tube, among others, from the crime scene.