Retired US Navy man, helper hacked dead in Laguna

CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Laguna—Police were tracking down an allegedly deranged man who hacked dead his former employer and his helper in an upland village in Pakil, Laguna, over the weekend.

The bodies of Cesar Dalena, 57, a Philippine-born retired US Navy serviceman, and his part-time helper, Jackielyn Tapulayan, 19, were found in a cliff near the resort owned by Dalena when policemen arrived. Dalena’s body was decapitated.

Another helper, Nelson Agao, 26, was able to escape from the attack and identify the suspect as Ronnie Abion.

Dalena, who owned a mountain resort in Barangay (village) Rizal near the cliff, fired Abion a few months ago, according to Senior Superintendent Pascual Muñoz, police provincial director.

Shortly before noon on Saturday, Abion returned to the resort and hacked the victims with a bolo. Agao, who tried to rescue the victims, was wounded but managed to flee and seek police assistance.

“It seemed to us that the suspect chased the victims toward the cliff,” Muñoz said.

Police Officer 3 Anthony Francisco, a municipal police investigator, said Tapulayan’s body was found “nearly decapitated.”

Barangay officials, volunteers and joint police teams from the provincial and municipal police found Dalena’s severed head near the crime scene, which is also located near Mt. Ping-as in Barangay Rizal, at around 12:45 p.m. on Sunday.

Dalena’s wife, Virginia, could not believe her husband could be a victim of such a gruesome killing, Francisco said.

“Abion could have been irked when he was not hired to work in the resort and was probably jealous with the one whom we hired instead,” said Virginia.

Francisco said Tapulayan’s mother told police that her daughter, a college student, was at the resort on the day she was killed. She had been working part-time there to earn allowance money in time for Monday’s resumption of classes after the holiday break.

Church mates of Dalena, a Roman Catholic, described him as a “very generous” benefactor of the parish church in Pakil.

Dalena actively supported the parish church in constructing a retreat house in the

Mt. Ping-as area, said Tess Afable, secretary of the Our Lady of Turumba Pakil Church.

Afable said the Dalena couple would always volunteer to bring to their resort devotees who would like to climb Ping-as Hill for prayer and recollection activities.

The Dalenas are good friends of Pakil parish priest Albert San Jose and were major donors in parish festivities held last year.

Dalena’s remains were brought to Balumbayan Funeral Parlor in Sta. Cruz town. Interment date has yet to be announced pending the arrival of his child from the United States.