The skeletal remains of a healer from Makilala, North Cotabato who went missing three years ago were found in a lake near the peak of Mount Apo, along with his identification cards.
Reynaldo Lubendina was reported missing in 2014, according to his wife, Anna. He was then 50 years old.
Lubendina was known in his hometown in Makilala as ‘manambalay’, a Cebuano term which means healer.
Anna told authorities her husband left their house in early 2014 at Barangay Indangan, Makilala to look for herbs which he needed.
“Since then, he failed to return. We don’t know where he went,” said Anna.
On Monday, a senior forester from the Energy Development Corporation identified as Jonathan Abel found Lubendina’s skeletal remains while scouring the watershed area at Lake Ma-ag, about 50 meters away from Mount Apo’s Lake Venado.
Along with the skeletal remains were identification cards of Lubendina, reports from the Kidapawan City PNP said.
Abel immediately informed the local PNP and the Scene of the Crime Operatives here to check on the skeletal remains.
Senior Police Officer 4 Moises Abril of SOCO-Cotabato said initial data showed Lubendina may have been killed by a snake or a wild boar.
“But our investigation won’t stop there. We are still looking for possible angles. We would like to determine if there was foul play in Lubendina’s death,” said Abril. (Malu Cadelina-Manar / MindaNews)
