A FARMER was arrested for allegedly setting their house on fire.
The suspect, Manolito Gabunada, 36, was taken into police custody last Saturday afternoon, April 20, 2024, in his residence in Upper Lucimba, Barangay Poblacion Pardo, Cebu City.
Fire Officer 2 Mary Grace Ambayan of the Parian Fire Station, told SunStar Cebu that an arson case had already been filed against the suspect last Monday, April 22.
When asked for his comment, Gabunada denied the allegation.
He said that his sister-in-law Melanie Llamedo was just making up stories against him.
In fact, he said he was imprisoned at the Cebu City Jail for nine months last year due to false accusations.
Gabunada said that their relationship turned sour when Melanie tried to get close to him but he avoided her because she was his sister-in-law.
"Naa siyay gisulti nako nga kana bang wala nay "O..n" ako manghud ambot ana no comment na lang ko," Gabunada said.
(She said something to me that my younger brother has no more "O..n" I'm not sure about that, so I won’t comment).
He said he was taken aback when his younger brother came with his wife and tanod and kicked him, while he was sleeping.
He added that after the incident, he went to the Cebu City Medical Center to seek treatment for his injuries, but when he came back, the police arrested him.
However, the lighter allegedly used by the suspect was not recovered by the police.
“Naghagis hagis daw ni sa ilaha sumala sa igsoon! Unya nagsige’g dokdok sa bongbong giduslitan niyag lighter," according to Ambayan.
(He reportedly threw a tantrum and kept hitting the wall before lighting it with a lighter).
Fortunately, the fire was contained because his siblings assisted in putting it out.
It was discovered that the culprit had already set their home on fire twice.
The first one was in 2022 when the suspect was said to be drunk. (GPL, TPT)