Vendor charged for hacking, burning own child

MANILA, Philippines - A fish vendor who allegedly hacked and burned his two-year-old daughter will be charged with frustrated parricide in Parañaque City prosecutor’s office today.

Mark Depalobos, 31, remains confined at the Parañaque General Hospital, where he and his daughter are under going medical treatment. The toddler is in stable condition.

Senior Police Officer 2 Reynaldo Arrojado said the incident took place at Depalobos’ house in Barangay Don Bosco at about 3:15 p.m. Monday.

The girl was sleeping while Depalobos’ partner, Ailyn Frisco, 23, sold chicken outside their house. Depalobos locked the door from the inside, grabbed a butcher’s knife, and started hacking the baby on the neck. “The child did not cry because she lost consciousness,” Arrojado said.

Frisco saw what Depalobos was doing and begged him to let go of the child. She ran for help but when she returned, Depalobos had already set their motorcycle on fire. The flames already reached him and his daughter.

As Frisco and their neighbors panicked, Depalobos pointed a screwdriver at his daughter’s belly and moved to stab her. Neighbors grabbed Depalobos and took the toddler away from him. As the girl was brought to the hospital, those who caught Depalobos beat him up.

Arrojado said the motive for Depalobos’ actions has yet to be established. “We are trying to look at mental depression or jealousy as motive. But he is a known wife-beater in their neighborhood,” he said.

Arrojado said investigators are still checking whether Depalobos was on drugs or drunk at the time of the incident.