BY RHENJIE MARIE CALANTAS
ILOILO – A 47-year-old man was found dead in his house in Barangay Pagdugue, Dumangas, Iloilo yesterday morning, June 28.
Cezar Dipus Jr., a former seaman, was found lying in a folding bed with the electric fan still turned on.
In an interview with Panay News, Revo Morales and his friend were supposed to ask permission to park their motorcycle outside the victim’s residence around 6 a.m. when they saw Dipus’ body and thought he had committed suicide.
An investigation by the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) later showed the victim had gunshot wounds.
“Nahibal-an sa investigation sang SOCO nga my ara siya gunshot wound nga ang entrance sa liog kag ang exit niya is sa likod. (SOCO investigation showed that the victim had a gunshot wound with an entrance to his neck and an exit to his back),” said Police Staff Sergeant Terence John Soria, investigator of the Dumangas Municipal Police Station (MPS).
Two empty slugs were recovered, but the authorities have yet to determine the firearm used. Initial investigation also showed indications of forced entry, but none of the victim’s belongings seemed missing.
“Ang ginalantaw naton nga anggulo is old grudges (We are looking at old grudges as motives),” Soria added.
Barangay Chair Rowena Funa said the victim was a kind person.
“Wala man kami may nabal-an nga may kuntra siya. Naga inum-inum man ina siya, pero indi man ina palahubog kag wala ini siya record sa barangay (He had no enemies as far as we know. He drank occasionally, and had no bad record in the village),” said Funa.
As of this writing, the Dumangas MPS have persons of interest, but the investigation is still ongoing./PN
