By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – The Talisay City Police Station and the Talisay City Risk Reduction and Management Office in Negros Occidental are conducting separate investigation to determine if a pedicab driver, who was found dead in a riverbank in Barangay Zone 11 last Sunday, was a victim of the Friday flashfloods.
Corporal Aljon Bautista, investigator of the Talisay City Police Station, said the body of Ulyses Escamilla, 50, of Barangay Zone 12 was found by residents in the area around 1:15PM, two days after he was reported missing by his family last Friday.
Bautista said the victim’s wife told them that her husband was last seen having a drinking session in a sari-sari store near the Minuluan river last Friday, however, he failed to go home that night.
Bautista said they could not yet confirm if Escamilla was a victim of flooding, adding that the flashflood was reported early Saturday morning.
Bautista said that the victim might have fallen into the river because he was drunk and might have drowned.
“For now, indi ta pa mahambal kung casualty man siya sa baha, indi pa official,” he added.
He said the victim had injuries in the head and scratches, probably due to hitting rocks in the river.
He said the family refused to subject the victim to an autopsy.
The massive flooding caused by torrential rains last week affected thousands of residents in the northern part of the province, and caused destruction in infrastructures, agriculture, livestock, and houses.
