• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A retired member of the Philippine Army is now locked up in jail after being tagged as a suspect in the shooting of his drinking spree partner on Sunday, in Hacienda Salvacion, Brgy. Ayungon, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental.
The suspect identified as Edgardo Molines, a 62-year-old retired Army soldier, surrendered and turned over an Armscor .45 caliber pistol to the La Carlota City police, after the shooting incident.
Initial police investigations showed that heated arguments ensued between the suspect and the victim identified as Hernani Aginda, 44, while they were on a drinking session.
The victim, who succumbed to a gunshot wound in the forehead, was reported by the police to have been declared dead on arrival at the Don Salvador Benedicto District Hospital in La Carlota City.
An hour after the shooting incident, Molines gave himself up to the La Carlota City Police Station.
The suspect told the police that Aginda, who was armed with a “tagad,” returned to his residence after their drinking session, smashed his chicken cage, kicked the door, and forcibly entered his house.
That prompted the suspect to shoot the victim, police investigations further showed.*
