Pedicab driver killed over passengers

MANILA, Philippines – A pedicab driver stabbed his colleague following a quarrel over passengers in Sta. Cruz, Manila Thursday night.

Mario Cabigao Jr., 24, succumbed to a stab wound at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center a day later.

His killing would have been unsolved if not for his relatives’ efforts to find the culprit, police said. They spotted suspect Sonny Cahilig, 44, at a pedicab terminal in Binondo, Manila Monday and sought police assistance.

Chief Inspector Alberto Peco, who heads the homicide section of the Manila Police District, formed a team of operatives led by Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo and SPO4 Edgardo Paterno.

Margarejo and his men, aided by witnesses, arrested Cahilig near a pumping station along Muelle de la Industria in Binondo. Cahilig did not resist arrest.

At the police headquarters, witnesses identified Cahilig as the same man who stabbed Cabigao. One of the witnesses alleged that Cahilig chased him off when he tried to help the victim.

However, Cahilig vehemently denied the allegation and claimed he was only mistaken for the real culprit.

Relatives of the victim tried to attack Cahilig at the police headquarters, but police officers prevented them from beating him up. Homicide charges were filed against Cahilig.

– Nestor Etolle