CANDABA -- For allegedly refusing to give in to a request for a cash advance, a couple from Lanang village in this town were attacked by their fishpond caretaker in their house shortly after midnight last Sunday.
Superintendent Paul Gamido, Candaba police chief, identified the fatality as Catherine Tobias De los Santos, 29, of San Luis, Pampanga. Injured was Jake Joseph “Jackie” de los Santos, 29, of Lanang village.
Gamido said the suspect was identified through a Facebook page as one Rodolfo Dato Yupio, Jr., a stay-in worker at the victim’s aqua farm situated adjacent to De los Santos residence.
He said the victims two children ages five and two years old were spared from the attack.
The Delos Santos couple was attacked by the suspect using a kitchen knife while they were sleeping with their children at around 1:45 a.m. of the said day.
Jackie suffered multiple stab wounds but mysteriously survived while his wife Catherine bore fatal stab wounds at the back of her body.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Jackie said that he was awakened by his wife screaming for help while he was asleep at the adjacent room. He immediately went out to check and was surprised to see that the caretaker of his fishpen, Yupio, Jr., has repeatedly stabbed and killed his wife, Catherine.
Upon seeing Jackie, Yupio allegedly ran towards him and stabbed on the left side of his neck. Jackie said he saw the suspect, still clutching a kitchen knife soaked with blood, when he rushed out of his room. He said he tried to put a fight but he was stabbed in different parts of his body. Injured, he managed to get out of the house and sought the help of his parents, staying just a few meters away of his residence.
Not a robbery
Police ruled out robbery angle as no valuables and cash were missing as reported to them by the relatives of the victims.
Investigation revealed that Yupio asked for a cash advance from the De los Santos couple which the latter disapproved. On Saturday afternoon, April 29, Yupio reportedly told the woman De los Santos that he would like to get his end of the month salary on Sunday.
Jackie said his wife told him about Yupio’s request, saying the money is more than enough as he (Yupio) just harvested several kilos from his aqua farm.
Jackie has in his pocket some P50,000 proceeds from the sale of cultured fish.
The suspect was last seen with another worker downing several bottles of alcohol late Saturday afternoon. He even helped De los Santos in harvesting cultured fish for sale.
Jackie said it was past 10 p.m. Saturday when he arrived home and went straight to bathroom to freshen up and went to bed. He did not notice that his wife left their room to do household choirs and laundry.
“Kasi ganun ang nakasanayan ng misis ko. Naglalaba sa gabi para maasikaso ang aming dalawang anak sa araw,” said Jackie.
Yupio escaped and is still at large as of Tuesday and is now the subject of manhunt operations.
Jackie, meanwhile, was brought to the Candaba Infirmary Hospital for medical attention, and was later transferred to Mother Teresa of Calcutta in the City of San Fernando.
Bounty
Both De los Santos and Tobias families raised P400,000 cash reward for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
The suspect, who reportedly suffered cuts during brawl with De los Santos, according to local police, vanished without a trace.
“We received information that an injured man was rushed to Arayat District Hospital for treatment but turned out to be false when checked by the police,” said Gamido.
Gamido said his men reached as far as Bulacan areas to check of the hospitals but returned to police headquarters empty handed.
“Nagbantay ako sa Victory Liner Bus terminal baka sakali dun sumakay ang suspect, pero wala akong nakita hanggang hapon,” Gamido said.
Cry for justice
Yupio is considered a member of the family already, said Jackie. He worked in my farm for more than six years.
“We shared what we ate and dine at the same time in one table,” Jackie said.
Jackie said he cannot believe of what Yupio did to us despite our kindness. “It’s better for him to surrender so that justice will be served for my family.
“Hustisya lang ang hiling ko para sa aking mahal na asawa na si Catherine,” said Jackie. (With JTD)