A fisherman was stabbed and killed by his drinking buddy early Thursday morning in Barangay Panacan 1, Narra, southern Palawan, the police reported.
According to a preliminary report from the Narra Municipal Police Station (MPS), the victim, 25-year-old Ariel Matiga of Agusan del Sur, was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead by the attending doctor as soon as he arrived.
Winsel Ramellite, 26, a resident of Purok Changgco, Brgy. Bawing, General Santos City, was named as the suspect in the incident that happened while their fishing boat, Mecoy 2, was docked on the shores of Panacan 1.
The Narra MPS’s initial investigations showed that Matiga and Ramellite were drinking with their friends when they got into an argument.
“Malakas kasi ang sound nila sa bangka, kaya hindi daw naririnig ng witness ang pinagtatalunan nila, pero kung titingnan daw, nagdidiskusyon sila na sobrang mainit ang pinagtatalunan,” a source in the Narra MPS said.
“Sobra ang kalasingan ng biktima, nahulog siya sa bangka, tapos tinulungan pa ng suspek, at saka ng isang kasamahan nila. Noong naiakyat na siya sa bangka, nakapa ng isang kasamahan ang patalim sa tagiliran ni Matiga, tapos kinuha niya, saka sinabihan daw niya na, ‘Pare, lasing ka na, matulog na tayo’, tapos iniwan niya na saka nilagay niya ang patalim doon sa higaan niya. Tapos nakita na lang daw niya itong suspek na si Ramellite na may dalang kutsilyo papunta kay Matiga saka pinagsasaksak ito,” the police source added.
The other fishermen on Mecoy 2 were able to call for help to bring Matiga to the hospital, but he later expired in the hospital where he was brought due to the severity of his wounds.
Ramellite is now under the custody of the Narra MPS.
