Snake kills Davao del Sur farmer

MALALAG, Davao del Sur –– Authorities have warned residents in rural areas of this town to watch out for snakes lurking in the grasslands following the death of a farmer from a serpent’s bite.

According to a police report, Rico Cabañero Canoy, 27, a resident of Purok 5, Barangay Bolton here was found dead Monday, August 5, with several bites in some parts of his body.

On Tuesday, Dr. Teresita Golingay-Emphasis, Malalag town health officer, confirmed that the bites Canoy had were from a venomous snake, following an autopsy of his body.

Police Senior Master Sergeant Gherson Guerrero, case investigator, said Canoy’s common-law wife remembered her husband leaving the house on Sunday afternoon, August 4, to tend the farm, but failed to return home in the evening.

The following day, Canoy’s relatives scoured through his farm and found the farmer in a grassy slope.

Bolton Barangay Chair Melvin Cabije immediately asked for an examination of Canoy’s body to know the cause of his death.

According to residents, farmers slaughtered two snakes found in the grasslands several weeks ago.