By Jennifer P. Rendon
A 55-year-old man has been charged in the murder of his wife, whose body was discovered in a vegetated area in Mandurriao, Iloilo City on February 12.
Domingo Lasa was formally charged with parricide at the Iloilo City Prosecutor’s Office on February 14.
Captain Val Cambel, the chief of Iloilo City Police Station 5, revealed that one of the couple’s children filed the complaint against the suspect.
With the impending legal proceedings, Domingo appears to be facing the charges in isolation.
“As of now, no immediate family member has visited him in jail,” stated Cambel.
An uncle from Iloilo province visited him once but did not return.
Domingo had previously confessed to killing his wife following a dispute the night before her body was found.
Domingo and Emelyn, a 56-year-old nursing aide at West Visayas State University Medical Center, have three adult children and two grandchildren.
Domingo informed the police that he had argued with his wife over suspicions of her having an affair with a man named Rene from Bolilao village.
The altercation escalated when he attempted to take his wife’s phone after seeing her texting in bed.
Initially resistant, Emelyn handed over her phone only after their daughter intervened. Domingo noted that it wasn’t the first occasion Emelyn was absorbed in texting late into the night.
Amid their argument, he expressed a desire to commit suicide, prompting his daughter to stay with him until he fell asleep.
The following morning, before 6 a.m., he accompanied Emelyn to their vegetable garden, located on a reclaimed swamp some distance from their home. Domingo claimed there was no argument during their walk.
However, he admitted to attacking Emelyn from behind with a ginunting bolo as she walked ahead of him. After she fell, he delivered additional blows to her forehead and neck.
Following the attack, he returned home, changed his shirt, and drove to Lambunao town, where he was apprehended on Tuesday evening.
