Masbate village chief stabbed dead outside local bar

NAGA CITY-–A village chairman in Masbate City died from multiple stab wounds after he was attacked outside a bar and grill in the city just before dawn Saturday, police said.

An unidentified assailant stabbed Ariel Verano, head of Barangay Anas, in different parts of the body as he was waiting for a tricycle ride home in front of the bar along Ibañez Street in Barangay JT Fernandez at 12:50 a.m., said Senior Police Officer 1 Zandro Cabintoy, officer on case at the city police.

Cabintoy said Verano was brought to the Masbate Provincial Hospital but died while being treated.

The assailant fled before anyone could come to respond to Verano’s plea for help, said Cabintoy.

Witnesses told police that prior to the incident, there were no altercations among customers in the bar that could have led to the crime.

Cabintoy said investigation was ongoing while an autopsy has been conducted on Verano’s body.