Lawyer ‘shoots self’ in Bogo City as cops try to serve arrest warrant

A single shot  under the chin killed 34-year-old Joaquin  Energio Manubag, a lawyer who was about to be served warrants of arrest by the police in Bogo City, north Cebu.

Police said Manubag locked himself in his room in Solid Homes Subdivision to avoid arrest and then shot himself.

Bogo police arrived at his residence in barangay Taytayan, Bogo City about 9 p.m. Friday to serve two warrants of arrest, one  for grave threats and another for alarm and scandal or Article 155 of the Revised Penal Code issued by Judge Dante Manreal of the Municipal Trial Court of Bogo City.

PO3 Elymar Mendoza, Bogo city police investigator handling the case, said that when police arrived, the lawyer quickly holed up in his room, and let a woman, his live-in partner, step out.

Police quoted Manubag as shouting a threat: “Sud mo diri kay di ko padakop buhi. Di ko hadlok mamatay kay dugay na ko patay (Come on in because I won’t let myself be  taken alive. I’m not afraid to die because I’m already dead).” Police were negotiating for his peaceful surrender when a single gunshot was heard.

When they entered, Manubag was reportedly found lying on the bed , bloodied, with a .38 caliber revolver on his chest. Mendoza said the lawyer had shot himself just below the chin.

The lawyer was rushed to Bogo City District Hospital but was declared dead.

According to police, Manubag was a certified public accountant and a lawyer, who had gained a reputation as a  toughie in the area and  would brandish his gun at neighbors.

Mendoza said the lawyer was previously charged with illegal possession of a firearm but was able to post bail.

“He even shot a man here who happened to be his friend. We also received complaints that he used his gun to threaten some residents,” said Mendoza.

Before the incident, said Mendoza, there were also reports about illegal drug use but this was not verified.

The lawyer’s  body was brought to Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Bogo City. A paraffin test was conducted by the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) to check for gunpowder burns on his hands that would confirm that the gunshot was self-inflicted.

The revolver was turned over to the PNP crime laboratory for examination,” said Mendoza.