The Pangasinan Star ONLINE

MANGALDAN – A priest at the local parish church was hospitalized after he was attacked by an unidentified man who sneaked into his room at the priests’ quarters at past 12 noon Monday for a still unknown reason.

The victim was identified as Fr. Francisco Posadas, an associate priest at the St. Thomas Aquinas Parish here, who was hit in the head with an empty bottle of softdrink, boxed several times in the body and face and bitten by the lone suspect in the left ear.

Posadas was rushed to the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City, where he was treated for injuries in the head and ear, and is now out of danger.

Investigation showed that while Posadas was talking to two visitors at the priests’ quarters, he excused himself to go to his room after he apparently saw or heard someone or something there. Inside, he saw a stranger who immediately attacked him with first blows.

Retired Navy Capt. Jorge de Vera, now a lay leader of the parish, was among those who helped rush Posadas to the hospital. De Vera theorized that Posadas may have been bitten by the suspect when he resisted and held on to the latter after being hit in the head with an empty bottle of softdrink.

The intruder could have inflicted even more harm on the priest had not one of his visitors, Amado Baluyo followed Posadas to his room. The suspect escaped and immediately boarded a white Toyota car with Plate No. PPP-795.

Mangaldan Police Chief, Supt. Segundo Adaliga said the get-away vehicle was found abandoned in barangay Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City, about five kilometers from Mangaldan town proper.

A check with the Land Transportation Office showed the plate number was issued to one Murphy Dustin of 12th Avenue, Quezon City, but there was a strong probability the car may have been stolen, police said.

Adaliga told newsmen that the National Bureau of Investigation was asked to help by lifting latent fingerprints that may have been left by the suspect on the abandoned get-away car.