Pinamungajan stabbing: Murder charge filed vs suspect in fatal attack

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A murder charge has been filed against the 39-year-old man who allegedly stabbed another man to death in Purok Damayan, Barangay Tutay, Pinamungajan, Cebu, last August 9.

According to the police, the suspect remains detained as of Sunday, August 16.

Police Captain Michael John Bañes, chief of Pinamungajan Municipal Police Station, said the complaint was filed on Thursday, August 13, after investigators gathered the necessary evidence.

The suspect, identified as alias “Jun,” was arrested on the same day as the stabbing.

Bañes said their investigation, including statements from witnesses, indicated that “Jun” and the 38-year-old victim, alias “Joey,” had a longstanding personal grudge.

According to Bañes, the suspect had returned from roasting a cow at around 5:30 p.m. on August 9 while carrying a plamingko. He then drank with his father before going to a nearby store to buy cigarettes.

It was at the store where the two reportedly encountered each other, leading to an argument that allegedly escalated into the stabbing.

“Gikan ni nag-ihaw og baka ang suspect, so naa siya’y bitbit nga plamingko. Nag-inom sila sa iyang amahan, then after niadto siya og tindahan kay mopalit pod unta siya og sigarilyo. And then nasugatan niya ang kaning biktima. And then dito na naglalis, then dito na pod nahitabo ang alleged dunggab,” Bañes said.

(The suspect had just come from slaughtering a cow, so he was carrying a machete. He and his father had been drinking, and he later went to a store to buy cigarettes. He then encountered the victim. They got into an argument, which allegedly led to the stabbing.)

Police received the report at around 6:55 p.m. on August 9. Responding officers later found alias Joey lifeless, with multiple stab wounds on different parts of his body.

Suspect surrendered

Bañes said the suspect voluntarily surrendered to police after the incident and brought the plamingko with him.

Witnesses reportedly saw a plamingko and a sickle being used in the stabbing. Bañes said, however, that alias Jun told investigators he only used the plamingko, explaining that the other object may have been its scabbard or sheath.

“Based sa witness nga nakakita is plamingko og sanggot ang allegedly nga gigamit. But then, based pod sa statement sa suspect is plamingko ra iyang gigamit kay since taas kaayo, maoto nga murag duha daw iyang gigamit. Ang usa is ang kanang scabbard, kanang sudlanan sa plamingko,” Bañes said.

(According to the witness who saw the incident, the weapons allegedly used were a bolo knife and a sanggot. However, based on the suspect’s statement, he only used the bolo knife. Since it was quite long, it appeared as though he had used two weapons. The other one was the scabbard, or the sheath used to hold the bolo knife.)

Bañes said alias Jun admitted that he had been drinking before the incident but denied using illegal drugs.

Previous drug case

Bañes also disclosed that the suspect had a previous case for an alleged violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and was under probation.

The police chief said this was among the reasons he had voluntarily surrendered after the stabbing, as he did not want the incident to further aggravate his existing case.

Bañes said alias “Jun” expressed remorse during the police interview, saying he regretted being carried away by his emotions, which resulted in the victim’s death.

Meanwhile, police continue to look into the claims of the victim’s family’s that one of alias “Jun’s” friends allegedly provoked him before the stabbing.

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