By Henry Empeño / April 3, 2025

SAN FELIPE, Zambales — Authorities have yet to identify a body that was found burned beyond recognition in a remote area here on Tuesday, April 1.

San Felipe Mayor Hart Jeresano said the local police still had no new information on the identity of the victim two days after residents discovered the charred remains near a creek at Sitio Sukit, Barangay San Rafael here.

“There is no update from the PNP as yet,” Jeresano told Headline Zambales on Thursday afternoon.

The San Felipe Municipal Police Station issued a flash alarm on Wednesday and again on Thursday, requesting for public assistance in identifying the victim.

According to initial police reports, the body is probably that of a male, who was about 5 feet and 4 or 6 inches tall.

Photographs of the crime scene showed that the body was almost completely burnt, except for its left foot that was relatively untouched by fire.

Police said the body may have been placed on top of a pile of rubber tires and lit like a funeral pyre. Tire steel belts were found along with the charred remains.

Police also recovered from the crime scene some burned items: a stainless-steel police baton with black handle, and a commemorative car plate with an insignia of the National Bureau of Investigation. 

COVER PHOTO: A commemorative plate with NBI logo, also burned, was found with the body.