Man found dead; suspect arrested

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A 69-year-old man was found dead morning of Nov 22, 2022 in a rice field at Barangay Vista Alegre, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo.

While it appeared that Marconi Barcelona was already lifeless for hours already, he was still taken to Governor Niel D. Tupas Sr. District Hospital where he was declared dead.

Barcelona, also a resident of Vista Alegre, suffered stab injuries on his chest and back portion of his body. He also had wounds on his head.

A few hours after the body was found, police arrested Eduardo Longganilla, 69, also of Barangay Vista Alegre.

Major Ciriaco Esquillarga, Barotac Viejo police chief, said Longganilla initially denied that he had something to do with the victim’s death.

But when further pressed, he broke into tears and admitted that he killed the suspect.

The day before the incident, Longganilla, Barcelona, and another man went on a drinking spree at around 4 p.m. in the suspect’s front yard.

At past 8 p.m., the suspect called it a day and went inside their home to sleep.

But two hours later, he woke up to a noise outside.

When he checked, he saw Barcelona alone, as their other drinking buddy already left for home.

The victim later held on to a chair and struck it on the pavement.

This irked Longganilla who went inside their house and took a knife.

He claimed to have stabbed Barcelona twice.

When the victim fell to the ground, Longganila took a crowbar and hit him on the head thrice.

“Para masigurado gid kuno nga patay,” Esquilarga said.

When the victim wasn’t moving anymore, the suspect took his top-down tricycle and loaded the victim’s body.

He dropped Barcelona’s body in a rice field, around 300 meters away from his home.

Esquilarga said the tricycle still had blood in it when found by police.

The police initially considered that Longganilla had an accomplice in the crime but the suspect insisted he was alone when he attacked Barcelona.

He also admitted that he harbored ill feelings against the victim after the latter hurled stones at his house a long time ago.

Longganilla is now detained.