Navy retiree, 4 family members massacred

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Philippines – A retired Navy official, his wife and daughter, and two relatives were found dead with multiple stab and hack wounds in their house at a military complex here last Monday, authorities said.

The victims were identified as retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ernesto Paiton, 59, his wife Carmelita, 55, a Navy chief petty officer, and their daughter Erlita, 21; and the Paiton couple’s niece Sharon Cabatuan, 19, and nephew Renato Cabatuan, 17.

Lt. Col. Samuel Cabang, spokesman of the Armed For­ces’ Western Command, said a thorough investigation is underway into the massacre, which occurred some 300 meters from the gates of the Naval Officers’ Village in Barangay San Miguel here.

Cabang said the elder Paiton retired from the service in early 2007, but Mrs. Paiton was still in active service. Their daughter Erlita, a nurse, was working at the provincial hospital. The Cabatuan siblings were studying at the Palawan State University.

Investigators said the killings might have started early Monday morning. The Paitons’ son Ernesto Jr. discovered the incident past 6 p.m.

The victims were found stabbed mostly in the head and neck and their mouths covered with masking tape.

Based on a reconstruction of the scene, the elder Paiton was the first to be killed in the comfort room, followed by his daughter and nephew, and that Mrs. Paiton could be the last as she arrived at around 12:15 p.m. for lunch.

Cabang said the Paitons had no known enemies and were well liked by their neighbors.        

He said probers were still determining the motive behind the massacre, noting though that the Paitons’ belongings were intact. “I would assume that the perpetrators targeted Carmelita. If the target was her husband, they should not have waited for her (to arrive from work),” he said. – With Arnell Ozaeta, Alexis Romero and Cecille Suerte Felipe