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Monday, July 21, 2003
Another cop killed; his assailant shot
By MINERVA B. GERODIAS
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AN OFF-DUTY policeman died in an open-air cockpit on A. Lopez, Labangon yesterday noon, after an alleged drug user and thief stabbed him in his chest.
PO3 Francisco Xavier Singson, 34, of T. Padilla Police Station is the second Cebu City policeman slain since last Tuesday and the third so far this year.
Nicknamed “Kano” for his mestizo features, the blue-eyed policeman left behind a son and a daughter. He marked his seventh year in the police service last Wednesday.
He was declared dead on arrival in Chong Hua Hospital while his attacker Rommel “Miloy” Quijano, 26, ended up in the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) after he was shot by responding policemen.
According to witnesses, Singson, of A. Lopez, Calam-ba, was attending to his gamecocks placed near the tigbakayan, an area used for neighborhood cockfights.
PO1 Eufemio Reyes, also off-duty from the City Hall multicab patrol, was with him.
Caught at home
Around noon, Singson was talking to his friend Mario Baran a few meters from the tigbakayan when Quijano suddenly attacked him.
Estelita Contado, a vendor in the area, said Singson was standing in the area for only a few minutes before he was attacked.
She already saw Quijano before that, but did not suspect he would go after anyone.
After the attack, Singson managed to pull his gun and chase Quijano, but collapsed after running about 10 meters.
A policeman who lives in the area called up T. Padilla police to inform them about the assault.
The team of SPO1 Jayme Toring immediately responded and was informed Quijano was still in his house in Sitio Bonbonan, A. Lopez.
Sensing the presence of the policemen, Quijano attempted to run away.
But after a brief chase, he was cornered by the police and attempted to stab Toring with a three-bladed ice pick.
Restrained
Toring parried the blow and was forced to shoot Quijano in the back. The same police team drove him to CCMC.
When reporters checked, Quijano was handcuffed to the metal railings on both sides of his bed as he was unruly.
Aside from the gunshot wound, he also had bruises in his face after residents in the area ganged up on him.
Other witnesses said had the police not stopped them, the residents who saw the attack might have killed Quijano.
In a brief interview, Quijano denied he attacked Singson.
“Wa man koy sala. Wa koy gibuhat. Ila ra man kong gidakop,” the weeping Quijano said.
There was no way yet of checking Quijano’s records yesterday, to see if he had prior arrests, convictions or a drug abuse problem.
SPO1 Jay Yballe of the homicide section said Quijano might have resented Singson, who has scolded Quijano a number of times.
Investigation
As for Singson’s companion, Reyes, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Roberto Delfin ordered Cebu City Police Chief Cecil Ezra Sandalo to let the policeman explain why he was there.
“Kung nandoon sila para tingnan yung alagang manok, okay lang yun. Hindi naman bawal mag-alaga ng manok. Pero kung yung tigbakayan talaga ang pinuntahan nila, yun ang bawal,” Delfin said. (There’s nothing wrong if all they were doing there was taking care of their gamecocks. But if they were there for the cockfight, that’s prohibited.)
Delfin also ordered Sandalo to put Punta Princesa police under investigation for their failure to stop the tigbakay in the area. He has a standing order to stop tigbakays or unlicensed cockfights in the whole region.
Delfin revealed that last week, he ordered a tigbakayan raided in Mabolo, Cebu City.
Singson is the second Cebu City policeman killed this week, and the third so far this year.
Just last Tuesday, PO3 Michael Sarcol died while pursuing a man suspected of stealing a bracelet worth P3,000. Sarcol was assigned to City Hall.
Last February, SPO2 Roman Lucero and his friend Anthony Soronda were attacked in Soronda’s house in Tres de Abril. Their attacker is said to have been identified, but no case has been filed yet.
Family man
Singson marked his seventh year in police service last July 16.
Residents described Singson as a well-liked officer who was not abusive, but also unafraid to reprimand people for wrongdoings.
Singson left two children, nine-year-old Alexandra and three-year-old Kevin.
His wife Cherrie is in Kuwait, working as a manager of a laundry shop.
Alexandra said her father had promised to give her a mountain bike for her ninth birthday on Oct. 18.
“Pero wala na man siya,” Alexandra cried.
She narrated that at 7 a.m., her father left their house and at 11 a.m., she went to the tigbakayan to call him for lunch, but he asked for a bit more time to talk to his friends.
“Ako siya giingnan nga uli na ta Pa, kay basin naay disgrasya dinhi, pero ingon man siya nga mosunod ra kuno siya kay mag-istorya pa sila sa iyang amigo. Niuna na lang ko uli unya mao dayon to nahitabo,” the policeman’s daughter said.
(July 21, 2003 issue)
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