The two teenagers who were detained for the death of a militiaman were released after it was established that the latter committed suicide.
The two – Mirelle, 19, of Barangay Lamanan, Calinan District, and 15-year-old Johnny of Barangay Lacson, Calinan District – were held after witnesses said they engaged Jason Endrina “Pangyaw” Tulabing, 26, also of Lamanan, in a brawl hours before he was found dead.
Major Arquiomedes Wesley, the Calinan Police Station commander, said the teens were freed Monday noon after a boy testified seeing Tulabing end his life which corroborated the autopsy result.
“Based on the result of the autopsy, there were no blood clots because of the mauling,” Wesley told Mindanao Times in a phone interview. “There were traces of asphyxia by strangulation, according to the SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operatives).”
Wesley said a nine-year-old nephew of Tulabing said he witnessed his uncle standing on a wooden chair with blanket on his neck.
Earlier, it was reported that Tulabing was found inside his house with a “rolled blanket on his neck.”
Tulabing was a Cafgu member assigned at the 89th Infantry Battalion in Davao del Norte.
His aunt, Antonia Moises, reported to the Calinan Police Station around 10 a.m. Sunday that Tulabing was found lifeless.
An investigation revealed that around 6 p.m. the previous day, Tulabing was allegedly mauled by two teenagers in an argument.
Tulabing, allegedly drunk, “drastically” approached two teeners onboard a motorcycle and asked them to bring him to an unstated direction. When the two teens declined, a brawl ensued.
