‘Barang’ reason for attack on elderly couple in Borbon, Cebu?

Shooter kills 64-year-old woman, wounds her 64-year-old husband

A member of the Scene of the Crime Operatives of the police process the crime scene where an elderly woman was shot and killed while her husband was wounded. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A man in his 50s, who allegedly believed that his neighbors, an elderly couple, placed a curse [gibarang] or cast a spell over his son, was arrested after he was accused of killing the 64-year-old wife and wounding her 64-year-old husband in Barangay Lugo, Borbon town in northern Cebu.

The shooting happened in the early morning of November 21.

“Gideny ni sa suspect ang pagpamusil apan ginganlan siya sa lalaki nga nasamdan,” said Police Captain Jerry Antopina, chief of the Borbon Police Station in a phone interview on November 22.

(The suspect denied he was the one who shot the couple, but the wounded husband identified him [the suspect] as the one who shot them.)

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Gibarang?

According to Antopina, initial investigation showed that the suspect, a certain Naldo, was believed to have attacked the couple because he allegedly believed that the victims had cursed or cast a spell [gibarang] over his son.

“Nilabay ra kuno ni ang iyang anak sa balay sa biktima unya diha nang lalaki. Pagabot kuno sa balay nila nagsige na kuno og sakit ang ulo sa iyang lalaki nga anak,” Antopina said.

(His son just passed by the house of the couple with the husband outside their house at that time. When his son arrived at their house, he then started experiencing headaches.)

Suspect, victims were neighbors

Antopina said that the suspect and the victims were neighbors and that Naldo’s house is in an elevated part of the hill, while the elderly couple’s house was at the foot of the hill.

In the early morning of November 21, at past 4 a.m., as the elderly couple headed to a well to wash their clothes, a man followed the couple and shot them.

The police chief said that the wife died after she was hit in the chest while the husband survived after he was shot in the leg.

The shooting was later reported to police, who arrived in the area at past 5 a.m. where the husband told police who shot them.

“Ginganlan sa bana nga si Naldo ang nipusil nila,” said Antopina.

(The husband named Naldo as the one who shot them.)

The victims were then rushed to the hospital for treatment but the wife did not reach the hospital alive. 

Antopina said that they then proceeded to the house of Naldo, where he was arrested.

Victim identified suspect as shooter

He also said that they did not find or recover a gun from the suspect, who denied that he was the one who shot the victims.

However, he was positively identified by the shooting victim, who survived as the one who shot them, so he was arrested and detained at the Borbon Police Station.

Antopina said that they would file murder and frustrated murder charges against the suspect on Monday.