A farmer killed himself after hacking his fellow farmer at a rice field in Barangay Sto. Tomas, Dumaran, Thursday morning.
P/Lt. Edwin Patagnan, officer-in-charge of the Dumaran Municipal Police Station (MPS), identified the victim as Eduard Barone Mondragon, 35, while the suspect was identified as Nilo Barone Gacho.
Patagnan said Raul Ustares, barangay chairman of Sto. Tomas, who reported the incident to the police station which immediately sent police to the area.
The responding police saw the lifeless body of Mondragon sprawled on the rice field.
The suspect was cornered by the police and some barangay tanod at his house but he was not arrested immediately because he was still holding the bolo.
Patagnan said the suspect heard that he will be arrested and drank a pesticide.
“Noong maramdaman niya na malapit na ang kapulisan, uminom raw ito ng pesticide sa bahay niya. Malakas ‘yong pesticide na ‘yon sa mga tao ,’yon kasi ginagamit sa mga palay ‘yon, kaya pagdating ng mga pulis hindi na inaresto dinala na agad sa ospital. Sinadya niya talaga para di sya maaresto,” he said.
Patagnan believes the motive of the bloody incident is land conflict.
“Ayon sa interview ng ating investigator, meron yata sila doong alitan na patungkol sa kanilang alleged na lupang sinasaka,” he said.
Investigators also found out that the suspect and the victim were cousins.
