A 22-year-old man was killed while another was injured during a brawl involving seven individuals in Barangay Maysilo, Malabon City, on Friday, April 4.
The clothes worn by Christian Jay Sevilla were soaked in his own blood. (Photo from Alexa Sevilla, the victim's sister)
Malabon City Police Station (MCPS) Chief Col. Jay Baybayan, identified the suspects as John Paul Cardoza, 32; Ryan Alagaban, 34; Emilio Nasol, 42; Arjhay Cleofas, 18; Jojo Cleofas, 41; Rosalyn Cleofas, 40; were all residents of 316 MH. Del Pilar St., Barangay Maysilo and Mark Jhovan Gula, 22, resident of Barangay Potrero.
According to Police Captain Roger Perez, commander of the Panghulo Substation, the violence stemmed from an earlier altercation between two groups.
However, only the second encounter, which turned deadly, was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV).
“Yung unang away isa lang ang na-involve na kamag-anak ng mga suspect natin. Ang away hindi na kunan ng CCTV kasi nasa labas (In the first altercation, only one relative of the suspects was involved. The incident wasn’t captured by CCTV because it happened outside),” he said.
The second altercation took place around 4:30 a.m. at the Jacobe Compound on MH Del Pilar Street.
The fight resulted in the death of Christian Jay Sevilla, 22, and injuries to 25-year-old Vincent Delfin.
CCTV footage reviewed by authorities showed the situation escalating when an individual threw an object, prompting a chase.
A man was seen retrieving a metal rod, after which chaos broke out in the narrow alley.
Several individuals exchanged punches, and at one point, a woman was seen handing a rod to another man, who, with an accomplice, used it to beat two victims near a gate.
One of the suspects was seen repeatedly striking the victims before fleeing the scene with the group.
Sevilla and Delfin were left bloodied and severely injured, with both sustaining stab wounds. Sevilla bore the most critical injuries.
A follow-up police operation was conducted around 5 a.m., authorities said the suspects attempted to evade arrest by hiding in their homes—one was even found concealed inside a water tank.
In a Facebook post, Sevilla's sister, identified as "Alexa," recounted the brutality of the attack. She claimed her brother was pleading for mercy.
“Yung kapatid ko sumisigaw ng “Hindi siya lalaban” pero tuloy tuloy kayong bumira! Naliligo sa sarili niyang dugo walang makarescue dahil nilock ang gate! Hindi niyo man lang hinayaan makatakbo pa sa hospital! (My sibling was shouting, “He’s not going to fight back!” but you kept attacking him! He was drenched in his own blood, and no one could rescue him because the gate was locked! You didn’t even let him have the chance to run to the hospital!),” she said.
She added that the family has been unable to hold her brother’s wake immediately because of the extent of his injuries.
“Ang tagal maburol ng kapatid ko ngayon dahil kailangan pa ireconstruct yung mukha niya dahil sa dami ng saksak niya s aamukha, ulo, at magang maga ang mukha at bali bali ang ribs dahil sa bakal na tubo pinanghampas sa kanya! Tinutubo niyo na sinasaksak niyo pa! (It’s taking so long to hold my brother’s wake because they still need to reconstruct his face due to the number of stab wounds on his face and head. His face is severely swollen and his ribs are all broken from being beaten with a metal pipe! You were stabbing him while hitting him with a pipe!),” Sevilla’ sister said.
Sevilla stated that their family has vowed to pursue justice and file the necessary charges against all involved in the brutal attack.
The arrested suspects currently now in police custody and will face charges of murder and frustrated murder.