A student who was reportedly a victim of bullying was found dead with gunshot wounds in a river in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte on Tuesday.
The remains of Abubakar Hasim, 21, was found in Barangay Matengen a day after he was reported missing by his friends and schoolmates.
Hasim, a third-year business administration student at the Cotabato State University, had reportedly told relatives that he was bullied by some schoolmates.
He reportedly filed a complaint and identified the bullies to school authorities.
Hasim was reported missing on Monday by his classmates and friends, who told probers that he had been worried about his safety as some men were bullying him.
He had reportedly revealed the identities of the bullies to his friends and classmates as well as his teachers.
Probers and barangay officials said Hasim bore two gunshot wounds in the body.
Police said the victim could have been seized and killed in Cotabato City, and his body was disposed of in Sultan Kudarat.
Capt. Steffi Salanguit, spokesperson for the Bangsamoro police, said the Cotabato City police and the Sultan Kudarat municipal police are working together to solve what they described as premeditated murder of Hasim.
Meanwhile, 21 students collapsed while participating in activities marking the anniversary of their school in Cotabato City on Tuesday night.
Responding police officers and emergency workers rushed the students of Sunshine College Inc. in Barangay Tamontaka 2 to a nearby health facility.
The students were immediately sent home after receiving treatment.
Authorities expressed belief that exhaustion, hunger and dehydration could have caused the students to fall ill.