Family of 4 massacred in Laguna — police

(Updated 2:03 p.m.) An old grudge led to the grisly death of a farmer, his wife, and two children in Laguna province before midnight Wednesday, police said Thursday. Laguna police chief Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz said the lone suspect, a fellow farmer, was arrested shortly after the incident. "Old grudge ito, ang suspect pinagbibintanagan ng namatay na may kagagawan sa pagtaga at pagpatay sa kabayo nila. Yan ay laging naungkat pag nag-iinom at naglalasing," Cruz said in an interview on dZBB radio. (It was an old grudge. The victim had been blaming the suspect for killing his horse. The victim would repeatedly bring up the subject during drinking sprees.) Now in police custody is the suspect who Cruz initially identified as one Ernie Tambong, 19. A survivor, an eight-year-old child, managed to crawl out of the house during the massacre and seek help from neighbors. Initially, police placed the number of fatalities at five. Later in the day, Cruz said doctors were able to revive one of the victims, a five-year-old boy. The boy, however, remains in critical conditional. Cruz said the incident occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday at the victims' house in San Pablo City in Laguna. Cruz said they are preparing multiple murder charges against Tambong. "Tingin ko pinagplanuhan ito (I believe the suspect planned the killing)," he said, adding testimonies by witnesses so far indicate the suspect acted alone. — RSJ, GMA News