4 die of suicide, shooting incidents

CEBU, Philippines - Four men, including a detainee, died in separate incidents in Cebu City. Two of them allegedly committed suicide while the two others were shot to death.

Rape suspect Leopoldo Navarro, 49, and Nemesio Cajes, Jr., 45, reportedly committed suicide while Paulo Quidato, 32, and Ranil Tampus, 24, were shot to death.

Navarro, a plumber and resident of Barangay Tisa was detained for alleged rape. He was found dead hanging from the ceiling at the toilet of his detention cell in Punta Princesa Police Station last Sunday noon.

Navarro was discovered by his fellow inmate Rolando Aligarme, who was detained for drunkenness.

Police Officer 1 Necio Torreon, Jr., the duty desk officer that time, conducted inspection and only saw Aligarme sleeping in the detention cell. He then woke Aligarme up and ordered the latter to check on Navarro.

Aligarme found Navarro hanging from the ceiling with a 135 centimeters long shoelace tied around his neck.

The police officer tried to rescue Navarro with the aid of the Basak Pardo Emergency Response but he was already dead.

Aligarme claimed to have heard his fellow detainee’s plan to kill himself but did not take him seriously.

Cajes on the other hand leaped to his death from the second floor of his house in Barangay Quiot at 5am yesterday. He was allegedly suffering from depression.

Investigation shows that Cajes was seen walking outside the house prior to the incident.

Juanita Cajes said her brother had been suffering from depression. In fact, he already tried to commit suicide also by jumping off the second floor of his house in August 2011. He was injured during the incident but survived.

In another incident, unidentified men shot Quidato while watching a coin toss game locally known as hantak along the alley in Barangay Duljo-Fatima at past 2 am yesterday.

Police recovered at least sixteen empty shells of caliber .45 pistol, two empty shells of caliber 9mm and eight deformed slugs from the crime scene. The victim died of multiple gunshot wounds in the head, body and arms.

In Barangay Kalunasan, an unidentified man also shot to death Tampus also during a coin toss game at past 5 pm last Sunday.

Tampus was reportedly having a fistfight with a certain Edward Bizmanos over a decision on the coin toss game when gunfire rang out.

Leonardo Dayaganon, 57, who was standing few meters away, was hit on his back with a stray bullet. Tampus and Dayaganon were rushed to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center where Tampus was declared dead on arrival.

The assailant, who was only described to be wearing red shirt with a tattoo on his left arm, fled before policemen arrived.

SPO4 Rey Cuyos, Homicide Section team leader, said they are still investigating the motive behind both attacks, which they initially believed to be due to personal grudge.  (FREEMAN)