SAN JOSE, Antique – He was found dead with a stab wound in Barangay Bongsod, Sibalom town in this province.
The 29-year-old construction worker Gerel Laudato was a resident of Barangay Bolong, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.
One of Laudato’s co-workers found him lying lifeless in a grassy portion near their bunkhouse at around 6:25 a.m. on Oct. 1.
The victim was later identified as a worker at IBC Construction in the town.
A follow-up investigation conducted by the Sibalom police lead to the arrest of the suspect Aslani Omar, a 19-yer-old resident of Madaba, Marawi and is temporarily residing near the area of the incident.
According to the police, the victim was last seen alive talking to the suspect inside the construction site’s bunkhouse shortly after midnight on Thursday.
Further investigation also revealed that Laudato and Omar held a grudge against each other.
The suspect was arrested in a hot-pursuit operation and was detained inside the lockup cell of the Sibalom police station.
The victim’s body, on the other hand, was taken to a local mortuary for a “post-mortem” examination./PN
