Christmas behind bars


By Minka Klaudia Tiangco

A 28-year-old man will be celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day behind bars after he was arrested for allegedly stabbing his drinking buddy in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City, Monday evening.

Adriano Bachiller Labutin, a construction worker residing in Barangay Ugong was placed behind bars for stabbing of Rowel Nicolas, 34, a stay-in-helper. Nicolas is now under observation at Valenzuela Medical Center.

Investigation showed that the two were in a drinking session with the victim's co-worker at the house of Labutin's brother when they got into a heated argument at about 9 p.m.

Later, the suspect reportedly saw Nicolas strangling his brother, which led him to stab the victim with a scissor multiple times on different parts of his body.

Members of the Valenzuela Rescue Unit rushed Nicolas to the Valenzuela Medical Center for medical treatment.

The suspect was arrested by police and barangay officials in a follow-up operation in the area. He is now under police custody and will be facing charges for frustrated murder, police said.