Police: Lozano son’s body dumped, burned in Pampanga

(Updated 10:04 a.m.) The search for the son of Marcos lawyer Oliver Lozano ended on a tragic note as police confirmed Monday that a burnt body found near a megadike in Pampanga province was his. Porac police said the dentures from the charred body matched the dental records of Emerson Lozano, 44, who was reported missing since Wednesday night. "Ang batang nagbabasura nakita nila, sinabi sa barangay tanod at ang barangay tanod pumunta rito sa himpilan at ni-report ang insidente (Children scavenging for trash found the body and told a village official, who in turn reported the matter to us)," PO2 Inri Reyes of the Porac police said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said the body was found at a grassy lot near the FVR Megadike in Porac as early as Friday. The lot where the body was found was near the highway, Reyes said. But he said the children who found the body did not see who dumped it. On the other hand, he said their initial findings showed the body was burned at the lot. "Ayon sa investigation parang doon sinunog ang bangkay (Our investigation showed the body was burned and then left behind there)," he said. He said it was the first time such an incident occurred in the area. In an interview with GMA Network's Arnold Clavio on Unang Balita, the elder Lozano said they were still at a loss on who could have been behind his son's killing. "Baka mistaken identity kasi napakabait ng anak ko na yan (Maybe it's a case of mistaken identity because my son is a good man)," Lozano said. He added that the incident could not have been related to his profession. "Hindi po nakiki-alam ang anak ko sa political activities ko." Earlier, the charred body of Emerson’s driver Ernane Sensil was found in La Paz, Tarlac, which is less than an hour via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. Lozano’s wife reported that her husband had been missing since the night of January 12, while meeting a prospective buyer of his van at a gas station in Quezon City. — RSJ, GMANews.TV