SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna — Residents of Talisay town in Batangas province found a torso near the shore of Taal Lake on Monday night, prompting suspicions that it belonged to a policewoman in Laguna who had gone missing several weeks ago, police said on Wednesday.

Arturo Marfil, father of SPO2 Ma. Cristina Marfil, said the Talisay police asked them on Wednesday to submit DNA samples to identify the owner of the body part.

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SPO2 Marfil, who was assigned in the Calauan town police, also in Laguna, was last seen alive on Sept. 23 when she reported for duty at the police station.

There was no trace of the policewoman until her car turned up abandoned in Talisay on Sept. 27.

PO3 Charlie Bermejo, chief investigator of the Talisay police, said residents found an object floating near the lake shore in Barangay Quiling at 7 p.m. Monday. He said the town’s health officer on Tuesday confirmed that it was a human torso.

Bermejo, however, said they could not immediately determine its gender since the body part was bloated and decomposing.

In an earlier interview, Senior Supt. Joel Pernito, Laguna police director, said they had formed a special task group to investigate the disappearance of SPO2 Marfil. Pernito, however, downplayed the family’s suspicions that higher-ranked police officers were involved in her disappearance.

Pernito said SPO2 Marfil, who was previously assigned in Biñan City, was allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade and the killing of a fellow police officer in April.

Her family, however, vehemently rejected this claim and has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel investigation. SFM

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