After missing for two days, a 20-year-old transwoman was found dead floating at an irrigation canal at Sitio Burnao, Barangay Del Pilar in the town of Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija on 19 June 2026.

According to the Zaragoza Municipal Police Station chief PMaj. Nelson Sarmiento, transwoman Bella Lutap was found at a farmland owned by the farmer/ father of her ex-boyfriend on Friday afternoon.

The farmer immediately reported the discovery to the police. The police reported that rock were tied to Lutap’s body to keep it submerged in the irrigational canal. Further investigation revealed that there were strangulations marks on the neck of the victim.

The police were quick to determine the last person who was with the victim, ex-boyfriend Calvin who was immediately arrested. Investigators revealed that the suspect wanted to get back again with the victim, but Lutap refused.

The 25-year-old suspect denied that he was the one who killed Bella, adding that he left his ex at the corner of the said street. The two had been in a relationship for one year and seven months.