CEBU CITY, Philippines — Dalaguete Police are considering personal grudge as possible motive behind the killing of a 36-year-old auto mechanic inside a poultry farm in Sitio Cansusi, Barangay Tapon in Dalaguete town on Monday night, May 17, 2021.
Police Major Pedy Noval, Dalaguete Police Station chief, said that this is still the angle they are pursuing in the killing of Ronelo Gono due to limited information about the incident.
Gono was shot at the back of his head once by a still unidentified assailant around 9 p.m..
Noval added that Gono was a native of Barangay Concepcion, in Sugod town, Southern Leyte who was working as an auto mechanic in the poultry farm.
“Gisubay pa nato kinsa tong mga tawhana ang naa ngadto, kay naa man nay gwardiya ang manokan. So, nag request tas tag-iya, niingon man sad ang tag-iya nga ipa (undergo) niya og paraffin test (employees),” Noval said.
(We are still verifying who among the farm employees were in the area at the time of the shooting. The poultry farm has an assigned security guard. We requested the cooperation of the farm owner who said that he will let his employees undergo a paraffin test.)
Noval added that they received reports that the victim had a misunderstanding with a co-worker before the shooting. He said they already have a person of interest but refused to divulge his identity as they are still gathering enough leads.
As per their initial investigation, Gono was inside the poultry farm when the suspect shot him from behind using an unknown caliber. The suspect quickly fled while the victim was rushed to the Argao District Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by attending physicians.
Noval said that they were not able to recover the firearm used in the shooting.
He added that they recovered a cellular phone inside the pocket of the victim which is now subjected to an examination.
As of this posting, Noval said they are coordinating with the crime lab for the results of the paraffin tests on Gono’s co-employees.