Ronda, Cebu tragedy: Father kills son in dispute over attitude
This is the area where 29-year-old Michael Ugbaniel was stabbed dead by his 52-year-old father Moises after an argument over the father’s attitude towards him and his uncle. | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — An argument between a father and his only son led to a bloody fight and ended with one of them in a coffin while the other one in jail.
The eldest son of the Ugbaniel family from Brgy. Sta Cruz in Ronda town, southwestern Cebu lost his life in the hands of his own father on Friday, November 1.
Michael Ugbaniel, 29, was allegedly stabbed to death by his father, Moises, 52, during an argument inside their house.
How it happened
The victim’s mother, Rosalia, said that she and Moises were arguing over money that they were going to use to pay their debt at around 7:00 a.m. on Friday.
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Despite her telling him yes, Moises began ranting that her brother was not contributing enough.
After hearing his father’s complaints, Michael joined the conversation and told his father off for badmouthing his uncle.
Rosalia said that her son told his father to stop talking bad about his mother’s younger brother, who had always been generous with their family.
Michael grabbed a bolo
During this, Michael grabbed a bolo nearby and held it in his hand to scare off his father, who allegedly had a tendency to get violent when angry.
Moises, angered by Michael’s attitude, also grabbed a large knife from another room.
Moises told CDN Digital that he needed the weapon to protect himself.
The two men continued arguing, with Moises not willing to back down against his son whom he always criticized for being unemployed and lazy.
Moises said that Michael grabbed a rock and threw it at him, hitting his arm.
Despite Michael dropping the bolo he was holding, Moises said that it felt like a trigger and he realized that his son was willing to kill him.
In a fit of anger, Moises tries to stab Michael who promptly ran out of the house.
Moises stabbed his son, killing him
Rosalia recalled seeing her son trip and Moises stabbing him on his side while on the ground.
She desperately ran after them while begging Michael to run. Her son, however, told her to stay away from them.
When she caught up with them, Rosalia shared that Moises tried to stab her too. However, he missed when she fell on the slippery rock that she was standing on.
The bleeding Michael was able to run for a few more meters before ultimately collapsing near a relative’s house.
Rosalia said that her nephew, Paul, arrived and managed to take the knife away from Moises. Their neighbors then held him down until authorities arrived.
Michael, who was rushed to the nearest hospital in the town, was hastily transferred to a hospital in Barili.
Unfortunately, he died before they reached the hospital.
Moises nabbed, wife to file case
Meanwhile, Moises was taken into custody by responding policemen. They also recovered the knife that he used in the crime.
As of this writing, he is detained at the Ronda Police Station while police are preparing to file parricide charges against him.
Rosalia is determined to lodge a complaint against her husband for killing Michael, whom she described as kind and obedient son.
She shared that Michael always watched over his six younger sisters while she was doing laundry to make money.
But because Michael was unemployed, he was always scrutinized by his father. Moises’ disdain against his oldest son grew when he would defend his mother during their fights.
Terrified of what else Moises could do, Rosalia said that she would be ending their marriage.
Regret for killing his son
While inside his jail cell, Moises admitted that he had a strained relationship with Michael because the latter would talk back to him.
In spite of this, he said that Michael was still his child and that he felt regretful for causing his own son’s death.
Ronda is a fifth-class municipality located approximately 86 kilometers southwest of Cebu.
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