Engineer kills self

ORMOC CITY — The death of a Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) engineer here has created anxious reactions when his supposed suicide notes were read by a local radio station stating he was "infected with HIV/AIDS."

Clemente Navalta, an electrical engineer of the PNOC assigned at the transmission and dispatch department was found dead with a utility rope tied around his neck at his rented house at F. Ablen Street on Sunday afternoon. Initial investigation showed that Navalta, 32 years old, single and a native of Iligan City has apparently committed suicide when two suicide notes were found on the table near his feet. Navalta was in kneeling position on top of a table in the kitchen when found.

The suicide notes that were addressed to his board mate, Andy Durog, also an employee of PNOC was written in Cebuano dialect. The first note asked Andy to read the letter before his dead body would be touched. The second letter, requested Andy to take care of his dead body, and asked him to call his two brothers Ben and Crispen, in Iligan City. "I am telling you that I committed suicide because I could no longer take the illness I got from Iloilo City which could be transmitted thru blood contact," said the letter in the dialect. — Roberto Dejon