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Friday, January 23, 2004
Tau Gamma man caught for slay
By Minerva B. Gerodias Sun.Star Staff Reporter
With Rene H. Martel
LESS than 24 hours after the fatal shooting of a high-ranking official of Alpha Kappa Rho (Akrho), one suspect who belongs to the rival fraternity Tau Gamma Phi was arrested.
Jayber Oyon-oyon, 24, a graduating computer science student of the University of Cebu, was placed under arrest yesterday after the school’s head security officer turned him over to the homicide police.
He was identified as one of several Tau Gamma members who allegedly attacked Romulo Romero, 22, and his four companions Wednesday afternoon.
Jake Germinanda, 24, and Junjie Ouano, two of Romero’s companions, iden-tified Oyon-oyon as one of those armed men present during the shooting.
The two also said they saw Oyon-oyon holding a gun, although they could not be sure if he was Romero’s gunman.
“There were so many of them. We heard four shots and we can no longer say who among them shot and killed Romulo,” the two said.
Oyon-oyon admitted being a Tau Gamma member, but denied any involvement in the case, saying he was in Urgello with a relative when the incident happened.
Oyon-oyon was detained at the Cebu City Police Office stockade and was subjected to a paraffin test, which will confirm whether he recently fired a gun.
More suspects
Germinanda also said that another Tau Gamma member, Ramon Ortiz Jr., was also armed and at the crime scene. Ortiz is reportedly a policeman’s son.
Ortiz, a criminology student and president of the Inter-Fraternity and Sorority Association of UC, has not yet been arrested.
The Tau Gamma leadership denied any involvement in the attack, with their adviser Flor de la Rosa saying the allegations were “fabricated” just to pin the rival fratmen down.
Despite the two fraternities’ failure to live up to a peace covenant signed in his office, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña refused to declare both Akrho and Tau Gamma as gangs that pose “a menace to society.”
Instead of stereotyping some fraternities, he urged the police to develop an intelligence system focusing on individual troublemakers.
Since the covenant late last year, both groups were seen doing outreach activities together.
Whatever good was achieved, however, was eclipsed by this latest clash.
Cebu City Police Chief Cecil Ezra Sandalo exclaimed that the two organizations “know nothing but to make trouble.”
Osmeña, however, said the police should go after individuals, not the groups where they belong. “And that policy will not change under my administration,” he said.
2 gunshots
Germinanda and Ouano narrated they were on Leon Kilat St. with Elmer Guantero Jr. and Peter Lou Wong, waiting for a ride to San Fernando Funeral Homes for a meeting. (Akrho president Richard Buscaino owns the funeral parlor.)
Suddenly, Ortiz attacked them. Romero ducked just in time.
But Romero’s companion reportedly attacked them too. That’s when his companions saw Romero fall. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive two gunshot wounds.
Yesterday morning, Ouano, Germinanda and several fraternity members approached Christopher Daligdig, the university’s chief security officer, and asked for help to pick up Oyon-oyon.
Daligdig approached Oyon-oyon, who was with his fellow Tau Gamma members, and the student agreed to go with Daligdig to the Student Affairs Office.
There, he was picked up by the homicide police. It was in the homicide section office where the two witnesses tagged Oyon-oyon.
Security headache
The two other Tau Gamma members who were with Oyon-oyon were cleared, as they were not identified by witnesses.
Daligdig admitted that the two fraternities have given the university a security problem.
Romulo was a former student, but was no longer accepted after he was caught bringing a firearm inside the campus.
Daligdig also confirmed that Romulo was involved in several troubles inside the campus.
Romulo had a pending homicide case after he allegedly shot dead a former boxer in December 2002. He was out on bail at the time of the attack he did not survive.
(January 23, 2004 issue)
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