DAVAO CITY — Architect Vlance Marie Bragas was raped and choked by her still unknown attackers, this was the result of the autopsy conducted by the Regional Forensic Unit XI showed.
This developed as the Davao City Police Office has created a Special Investigation Task Group Bragas to focus on the case of the 28-year-old architect who was found dead inside a banana plantation ditch at around 8:00 on May 17 in Purok 6, Barangay Dacudao, this city.
Braga’s case is rape with homicide the police described.
On Wednesday night, City Police Director PCol Alberto Lupaz visited and expressed his condolences to the family of Bragas. He then created a task group to focus on the investigation and solution of the case.
A plantation worker found Bragas’ lifeless with lower body exposed on May 17.
She was last seen riding on a yellow “Umbak” , a locally manufactured trike on May 16 at 10:39 in the evening (as shown on CCTV provided to Newsline) at the junction of Fausta Street and national highway, heading to the direction of their house at Purok 18 Durian Village, Calinan, Davao City, which is just a kilometer away from the national highway.
Her mother Henrieta told Calinan Police that her daughter sent a message at around 10:00 informing them she was on her way home but she never arrived and she was not taking the call.
The restless mom went out and found a sandal nearby, prompting them to report to the police at 12:30 midnight of May 17.
A resident who lives near the banana plantation said they were not aware of any incident on Tuesday night and they never heard their dogs barging.
The police invited Gregorio Juvito Jr, who owns seven (7) yellow trikes but he told Newsline “My units are old and with names and designs and the one shown on CCTV footage is new and without a design. Besides my drivers operate only up to 6:00 in the evening.”
Calinan is among the five biggest barangays of the city has at least 5,000 trikes, said Barangay Captain Orsi Ungab.
Of the 5,000, 1,000 are “Umbak” Bao-bao and 400 are painted with yellow since the colors allowed in their village include red, white and yellow.
The Davao City Police in a statemenr said “The DCPO strongly condemns the inhumane act and assures that best efforts will be exerted in the investigation of the case for prompt identification and arrest of the suspect.”
The police are also calling on any individual who has knowledge which might lead to the solution of the case to come over and their identities confidential.-Editha Z. Caduaya
