Neighbor kills toughie over power bill

MANILA, Philippines - A man with a reputation for being a toughie was hacked to death in Tondo, Manila yesterday by a neighbor after he refused to pay his share of the power bills for several months.

Police said Giorginni Rodoquillo, 32, a pedicab driver and alleged member of a crime gang, was sleeping on a bench in the neighborhood when taxi driver Eduardo Babijes, 55, approached him at around 10 a.m.

Babijes bore a grudge against the victim, who hooked up his house to Babijes’ power connection but later refused to pay his share of the electricity bill.

Babijes hacked the sleeping Rodoquillo with a jungle bolo and continued to attack as the victim tried to crawl away. He later tried to escape but was caught by policemen who responded to the scene.