Tondo barangay chairman robbed, killed by male helper

Beware of the househelp you hire.

This was the warning given by the police following the murder of a barangay chairman in Tondo, Manila by his newly hired male helper.

The body of Aurelio Sese, 65, chairman of Barangay 62, Zone 6 in District 1, was discovered by his relatives yesterday morning inside his video game shop at 542 Aguila St., Tondo.

Officer-on-case SPO2 Virgo Villareal said the victim sustained five stab wounds in the chest and abdomen.

Though visibly dead, relatives of the victim still brought him to the Mary Johnston Hospital, with the fatal weapon, a paring knife, still embedded at the right portion of his chest.

Police are now hunting the victim’s male helper, a certain Lando Catiero, who had gone into hiding together with his live-in partner. A witness told police the two were seen rushing out of the video game shop past midnight on Monday, the time investigators believe the victim was slain.

The victim’s relatives told police Sese had at least P50,000 in his possession at the time of the attack. Police, however, recovered only P20 in his pocket.

Villareal said the suspect and his live-in partner were hired as helpers by the victim a month ago to watch over his video game shop, located two houses away from his residence. The suspect, who came all the way from Aurora town in Quezon province, was recommended to the victim by a lady neighbor after a prospective employer turned him down.

"It was only Lando who was actually hired, but the barangay chairman allowed him to bring along his live-in partner. The couple slept in a small partition inside the video game shop," Villareal said.

Villareal also learned that prior to the attack on the victim, there was a beer-drinking contest inside the shop hosted by the barangay chairman.

Villareal theorized that the victim was attacked unaware since there was no visible sign of struggle inside the video game shop. "The suspect could have noticed the large amount of money carried by the victim and was forced to kill him in order to rob him," Villareal said.