Suspect sells shovel for his fare as he flees

By Shiela G. Gelera

A farm worker was killed in their barracks at a hacienda in Barangay San Jose in Negros Occidental’s Binalbagan town around 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

Rescuers found Bryan Lanojan lying on the floor bathed in his own blood, police said.

Binalbagan Police Station chief, Police Major Fernando Somblingo Jr., said yesterday that the suspect, identified as Elmer Tabuga, a fellow farm worker of Lanojan, suddenly left the place unnoticed.

Investigation showed that Tabuga also sold a shovel for P500 so he can have money for his fare and food as he fled, Somblingo said.

Lanojan and Tabuga’s co-workers called the rescuers after they found the victim with stab wound on his body, and another wound on his head caused by hitting using a hard object, the police chief added.

Witnesses, meanwhile, said Lanojan and Tabuga had a drinking session Tuesday night and they engaged in a heated argument.

Officers of the Binalbagan Police Station recovered near the crime scene an ax with bloodstains that was possibly used to hit Lanojan’s head, while the knife used in stabbing was not found, Somblingo said.

As of this writing a hot pursuit operation was ongoing for the arrest of Tabuga.

Somblingo added that the suspect may face murder charges./SG, WDJ