BALANGA CITY – A verbal tussle over the results of the local polls led to the fatal hacking of a political leader of the mayor-elect of Bagac, Bataan during a drinking bout last Friday afternoon, police said.
Senior Superintendent Odelon Ramoneda, Bataan police director, said the victim, Casimiro Benosa, 54, was drinking gin with fishermen Numeriano Camilag and Dante Alvarez in Barangay Binuangan, Bagac when an argument over the election results ensued.
Benosa’s wife, Remedios, is the barangay coordinator of Kabalikat, a women’s group organized by Vicky Garcia, wife of re-elected Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia of Lakas-CMD.
Benosa’s drinking partners, on the other hand, were both leaders of losing re-electionist Bagac Mayor Armando Ramos.
The two reportedly criticized Benosa for not supporting Ramos. One of them hacked him with a bolo, hitting him in the head, face, left arm, and abdomen.
Benosa died while being rushed to the Bagac Community Hospital. The coastal village of Binuangan is about an hour by boat to the town proper.
Police arrested Alvarez while hiding in a thickly forested area in the village four hours after the incident.