A PRIEST who was reported missing last Saturday was found alive on Sunday, with his hands tied inside a vehicle, in Silang, Cavite.
Fr. Leoben Peregrino, the 59-year-old parish priest of Holy Rosary Church in Rosario, Cavite, was very weak when found inside his Mitsubishi Adventure parked in a vacant lot in Bgy. Lumil in Silang.
The priest was wearing the same clothes he wore when he left the parish last Saturday.
His brother, Joel Peregrino, immediately posted a thank you note on his social media account upon knowing that Fr. Peregrino was found alive.
“Salamat po sa inyong mga panalangin. Dininig po ng Diyos ang ating mga dasal. Nakita na po si Father Leoben ‘Phem Octavo’ Peregrino sa Barangay Lumil Silang, Cavite. Buhay po siya,” the brother, in his post, said.
Lt. Col. John Oruga Jr., acting police chief of Silang, said Fr. Peregrino was found by village residents around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Before the priest was found, barangay captain Nolasco Guevarra informed PCP-2 Substation Silang Municipal Police Station about a Mitsubishi Adventure parked unattended at a vacant lot near a commercial building
on Sta. Rosa – Tagaytay City road.
Village officials checked and were surprised to see the victim inside the vehicle.
Fr. Peregrino was sitting at the back seat and was tied on the head rest of the driver’s seat.
The priest, who was in a “state of shock,” was brought to the hospital for treatment. He has not yet spoken to police.
Witnesses said Fr. Peregrino left the convent of the Holy Rosary Parish in Poblacion, Rosario, Cavite on April 1 to buy candles and failed to come back on the same day.
The priest’s Mitsubishi Adventure was last seen passing through Bgy. Santiago in General Trias City at 10:51 a.m. on April 1.
Police are facing a blank wall into what really happened to the priest.
“Hindi po makausap nang ayos si Father and advice ng attending doctor sa La Salle Medical Center sa Dasma na huwag munang kausapin kasi nasa trauma period pa ang victim,” Rosario, Cavite police chief Lt. Col. Ruther Saquilayan said.
