NEGROS Occidental – A 39-year-old driver was killed following a heated dispute over a bamboo fence on Monday morning, November 17, in Barangay Tapi, Kabankalan City.
Police identified the victim as Edcel Gonzales, a resident of Purok Palangga, Barangay Tapi, while the suspect, alias “Delo”, 50, also a resident of the same place, is the former’s stepfather.
According to the Kabankalan City Police Station, the incident occurred at around 7 a.m. but was reported to the police two hours later by barangay kagawad Kurt Palacio.
Initial investigation showed that the conflict started the night before, on November 16, when Gonzales arrived home from work and cut a section of a bamboo fence along his pathway because it blocked his access to their house. When the suspect returned and found the fence destroyed, he confronted his wife, alias “Medi”, who confirmed that her son had done it. The suspect became enraged and left the residence.
On Monday morning, Medi saw Delo walking toward the Barangay Health Center, bloodied and carrying a bladed weapon. Alarmed, she rushed home, only to find her son lying lifeless on the ground.
Barangay officials immediately transported both the victim and the suspect, who was also wounded, to Kabankalan District Hospital. Gonzales was declared dead on arrival by attending physician, Dr. Ernesto S. Oriel. The suspect, meanwhile, was later transferred to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City for further treatment. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
