Chief tanod stabbed dead by nephew

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A chief tanod (village watchmen) was killed in a knife attack evening of Nov 24, 2021 in Dingle, Iloilo.

Joene Bernasol, 52, a resident of Barangay Dawis, Dingle succumbed to five stab injuries, with the wound below his left armpit as the fatal one.

The suspect, 35-year-old Jun-Jun Bernasol, Joene’s nephew who lives in the same compound with the victim, immediately fled after the incident and remains at large as of this writing.

Police conducted a hot pursuit operation in Anilao town but to no avail.

Jun-Jun’s father is Joene’s eldest sibling.

The family was celebrating a debut party when the incident happened.

At around 10:19 p.m. Wednesday, Joene allegedly reprimanded the group of Jun-Jun and his younger brother Mark for being too noisy.

This did not sit well with Jun-Jun who indulged his uncle in a heated argument.

Major Jonah Galicha, Dingle police chief, said the confrontation brought up previous misunderstandings between the victim and the suspect.

At the height of their argument, Jun-Jun drew a knife and attacked his uncle.

A witness claimed that Mark attempted to pacify the fight.

“We were able to talk to the witness, who is also their cousin. They initially thought that Jun-Jun just boxed the victim,” Galicha said.

The witnesses were a few meters away when the incident happened.

When Mark attempted to go near, the witness claimed he prevented the former so as not to aggravate the matter.

Mark also fled after the incident. Police picked him up while he was lining up for a government aid intended for persons with disability (PWD) at Barangay Pandan.

He claimed that he was advised to leave the area while tension was still high.

Mask was subsequently released after police established his innocence.