By Jennifer P. Rendon
A 29-year-old man was stabbed and mauled early morning of July 31, 2022 in Lapuz, Iloilo City.
Willie Soria, a resident of Barangay Alalasan, La Paz district, landed in the hospital after a group of men manhandled him around 4 a.m. Sunday.
According to police accounts, Soria and several other residents of Alalasan village went on a drinking binge at a funeral wake. The victim and a certain Mark Sumcio later figured in a heated argument.
A commotion ensued after the two challenged each other to a fist fight.
Major Jose Val Ladublan, Iloilo City Police Station 3 commander, said several residents pacified them before they could trade punches.
After a while, Soria left the wake but not before spitting. He was allegedly heard saying, “balikan ta kamo dira (I shall return there).”
This apparently didn’t sit well with 19-year-old John Lloyd Maño alias John Tan.
Maño, also a construction worker, is a relative of Sumcio.
He allegedly approached Soria and stabbed him twice on the left side of his abdomen.
The incident was even captured by a CCTV camera.
Seconds later, Maño got reinforcement from four other men. One of them was his underage brother, two other minors, and a certain Alden Pellega, Jr.
The four allegedly took turns in mauling the victim.
Maño turned himself to a village official after the incident. The two other minors were arrested in a follow-up operation.
Maño’s younger brother and Pellega remain at large, as of press time.
