Sunday, August 03, 2008 Cabaero: What 'chop-chop' case means By Nini B. Cabaero Beyond 30
CEBUANOS were shocked to learn of the gruesome killing last July 24 of two women whose bodies were cut up and the pieces thrown in different places to cover up the crime.
Maria Eva Mae Peligro and Gwendolyn Balasta were residents of Azienda Firenze, a posh hillyland subdivision in Barangay Lawaan I, Talisay City. Last July 24, they were killed allegedly by Richard Gudelosao, brother of Peligro’s fiancé, and two companions, and their bodies chopped up and placed in separate bags. These bags were later thrown in different places to dispose of the evidence.
But evil plans have a way of getting derailed as members of the Minglanilla police worked on the case and captured the suspects.
It was found out in the initial investigation that Gudelosao had a motive in killing Peligro. He had accused Peligro of squealing on him to his brother Felix, Peligro’s fiancé, and their mother. Peligro and Richard Gudelosao live in the same house bought by Felix. The other victim, Balasta, was a cousin of Peligro who was in Cebu to search for work.
Richard Gudelosao recalled the gruesome details of the killings. He said a neighbor, Joseph Roy Cellar, helped him in his confrontation with Peligro and killed Peligro and Balasta. Cellar, in a separate affidavit, said it was Gudelosao who started cutting up Peligro. First the knees, then the thighs and pelvic area. Cellar joined in and cut off Peligro’s head and arms. They did the same on Balasta’s body.
They placed the body parts in black bags and threw them off cliffs in Talisay, Minglanilla and Toledo City, and in a canal.
The details of the killings were what made this case extraordinary. This was the reason why their presence at the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office and, the next day, at the Palace of Justice in Cebu City where they were brought for the filing of double murder charges, created commotions among workers and bystanders there.
People jostled for a better view to see for themselves what kind of animals could do such horrible deeds.
What the so-called “chop-chop” case means is that the combination of alcohol and, maybe, drugs, with anger could lead men to do beastly acts.
That the assumption that Richard Gudelosao was mad because he stood to lose some financial support from his brother shows a sad and often unspoken side to the sunshine stories of overseas Filipino workers.
That the local police can do a creditable job at seeking the suspects and arresting them just hours after the discovery of the crime. Members of the Minglanilla police led by their chief, Romeo Santander, received praises and may be awarded with promotions for their achievements.
That the Cebuano community, despite the everyday violence imposed on it by the rising costs of living, is not inured to such forms of cruelty. That they care when one of their kind gets killed and in a way that teases the imagination and makes the stomach turn.
