PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — Fishermen from Barangay Calandagan in Araceli, Palawan, discovered a human arm inside the stomach of a shark they recently caught, police reported on Thursday, Feb. 27.
According to the Palawan Police Provincial Office, the fishermen were about 26 miles off Calandagan near Canaron Island, fishing with a hook and line, when they caught a 20-kilogram shark.
Upon returning to shore, they slaughtered the shark to sell its meat to waiting residents. During the process, a severed human arm, approximately 12 inches long, fell out of the shark’s stomach.
The fishermen immediately buried the arm and reported the incident to authorities.
On Feb. 17, personnel from the Araceli Municipal Police Station and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office arrived in Barangay Calandagan to retrieve the arm for fingerprinting and identification. However, due to advanced decomposition, obtaining fingerprints was no longer possible.
Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Barangay of Calandagan released a statement explaining that they initially withheld public disclosure of the incident to prevent confusion and allow authorities to handle the matter appropriately.
Barangay officials also conducted an investigation, interviewed the fishermen involved, and turned the case over to higher authorities for further examination.
