Man arrested after beheading drinking companion in Dipolog

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December 5, 2025 | 8:09am

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Barangay officials and policemen arrested and detained a 26-year-old man who killed and beheaded a companion with a knife during a drinking session in Dipolog City before dawn on Wednesday, December 3.

Local executives told reporters on Thursday that the suspect, Nelson Rones, who was immediately detained by responding policemen, confessed—in the presence of neighbors—to repeatedly stabbing and then decapitating the 44-year-old Roel Cabanlit after a heated altercation in Sitio Bularan, Barangay Surf Miputak, Dipolog City.

Barangay officials in Dipolog City, the capital of Zamboanga del Norte, said they are ready to help the family of Cabanlit prosecute Rones for his criminal offense.

Col. Khisna Bagis Asaali, police chief of Dipolog City, said on Thursday that villagers first overheard Rones and Cabanlit shouting invectives at each other before they discovered the gruesome incident.

Residents of Sitio Bularan immediately reported the atrocity to barangay leaders and volunteer community watchmen, enabling them and a team from the Dipolog City Police Station to disarm and detain Rones.

Relatives and friends of Rones said he has long been hooked on shabu and marijuana, is a heavy liquor drinker, and behaves violently when drunk.

Asaali said the suspect is now locked in a detention facility, guarded by policemen under his command.