Woman killed by her own son

CEBU, Philippines - Milagros Lapata, 72, will never get to visit her dearly departed today, All Souls’ Day.

Instead, it will be her soul her relatives will be praying for after she was allegedly bludgeoned to death by her son after she refused to give him P32,000 to pay off a debt related to his reported use of illegal drugs.

Police believe Jonito Lapata, 38, was high on drugs when he killed his mother whose body was found around 10 a.m. yesterday in an abandoned house in Sitio La Purisima Barangay Cogon-Pardo, Cebu City.

Her hands were bound with straw while her face was unrecognizable because of repeated blows to her head, said Pardo Police Station chief Senior Inspector Robert Lucernas.

Missing

Late Monday night, some relatives of Milagros were getting worried because it was already late and she was nowhere to be found.

The husband of Jonito’s sister said he last saw the victim with her grandson and frequent errand boy, Joshua Ortiz, 18. That same night Joshua was taken by his relatives to the police station after they became suspicious he was hiding something.

Lucernas, said Joshua told them Milagros was in Talisay. They went there but did not find her there. He reportedly kept insinuating Jonito was also involved, but only told police everything that happened after Jonito, who is his uncle, was brought in yesterday morning.

Joshua said the night before, Jonito, who was with another man, asked him to help out with something he thought would involve manual labor. He said Jonito asked him to bring his mother to a street corner where he and the man waited.

After Joshua brought her there Jonito allegedly asked for money to pay his debt but she refused and Jonito attacked her.

Lucernas said Jonito knocked his mother unconscious after hitting her with a 2x2 piece of wood in the head. He then took the money from her.

“Ang nakapait sad ba kay gikuha na lang ta to ang kwarta, wa na lang unta ang kinabuhi sa inahan, nakuha ang kwarta, mao sad ang gibayad, sa utangan,” Lucernas said.

Joshua said Jonito then ordered him to tie her hands with straw. Joshua said he initially refused, but Jonito threatened to kill him and his whole family. Joshua said he was made to help Jonito carry Milagros to the abandoned house where she allegedly regained consciousness.

“Unya kay buhi pa man na, naulian man ang inahan, ang mga silingan nakadungog og siyagit nga tabang, niya wala lang sila ba, wala lang nila taga-i og bili,” Lucernas said.

Fearing the victim will report what he did; Jonito allegedly killed her by hitting her in the head with a rock repeatedly.

“Gituyo na nila og patay na, aron di makasumbong. So wa siya magtuo nga si Joshua mokanta. Pagkanta ni Joshua nasubay nato, nga sila diay,” Lucernas said.

Joshua also said that after the incident suspect handed the money to the unidentified man waiting outside the abandoned house.

“Naa ra man ko sa gawas nag standby niya iya man ko gikuan, gibira, adto ra ko nakahibaw nga iya na nadapatan. Ako man (unta to) badlungon, sir, pero naa man siya kuyog, kato iya kauban, kato iya giutangan, gibantayan ko sir, if molakaw ko, iya man ko patyon, kami g’yud tanan pamilya,” Joshua said.

Lies!

However, Jonito told a different story saying Ortiz made it all up.

“Siya ra na’y nagkuan, iya ra ng istorya g’yud, silay nagkuyog, ako’y gipasanginlan, wala ko diha, naa ko’s Colon namunit, patimbang ko. Di na ako utang, iya na,” he said.

Jonito, who was arrested in his mother’s house, around just 50 meters from where she was found dead, claimed he had no idea his mother was dead until after he has been taken in.

No Troublemaker

Gypsy Abanggan, the mother of Joshua, said her son is not a troublemaker.

“Buotan ni nga bata dai, dali ra masugo. Dili g’yud kabuhat si Joshua. Apil siya pero wala siya nipatay. Napugos ra siya, dili ni siya mosuyop, dili moinom, dili basagulero,” Abanggan said.

She also added that Jonito hurts his mother whenever she refuses demands for money.

Milagros, who owns a sari-sari store and a piggery, reportedly used to hide her earnings inside their house, but after Jonito always found where she hid the money she started hiding them on her person, even tying the money around her waist with a plastic rope.

Neighbors in the area also said that Jonito uses drugs and for the past week they saw an unidentified man always visiting him. Police are looking into the possibility the unidentified man is connected to the drug trade.

One of the family members of Milagros who requested anonymity said that they will be pressing charges against Jonito for killing, but hope Joshua will receive a lesser penalty because of the circumstances.

Lucernas said parricide charges will be prepared against Jonito while murder charges will be prepared against Joshua.