Philippine man thought dead, not dead

• Tweet

QUINTONG, Philippines, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A man from the Philippines thought to have been dead and buried weeks ago turned out to be alive, his wife said.

Jasper Soriano, 25, of the village of Quintong in San Carlos City, Pangasinan province, was last seen alive by his mother on Feb. 2, Gulf News reported Sunday.

A body of an unidentified man, believed to have been a victim of extra-judicial killing, was found in a nearby town on Feb. 10.

Soriano's mother claimed it was her son's, arranged a funeral and buried the body.

Several days after the funeral, rumors spread throughout Quintong that Soriano was alive, the newspaper reported.

Ruby Oria, Soriano's wife, went out in search of her husband and found him alive in Nueva Ecija province.

Oria said she slapped and punched Soriano to make sure she was not talking to a figment of her imagination when she found him, Gulf News reported.