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Friday, January 20, 2006
Dizon’s widow grateful; accused shuns media
Before the clerk of court could even finish reading the decision convicting Edgar Belandres for the murder of her husband, Amelina Dizon was already wailing.
The widow of The Freeman photojournalist Allan Dizon cried while hugging her four-year-old daughter Kyla before the conviction was read.
Amelina told Sun.Star Cebu right after the promulgation that she was hanging on every word of the decision and she knew by the second to the last page of the 19-page decision that justice was on their side.
“Salamat Señor Sto. Niño,” she repeated a number of times, telling reporters that she offered the case to the Sto. Niño.
Allan will never return to us. We will never see him again. This is what we asked for, justice, Amelina said in Cebuano.
Kyla did not seem to understand what was going on, as she was only smiling and laughing with Dizon’s relatives and supporters. But according to Amelina, Kyla knew what took place and was happy with the decision.
Amelina, after waiting for more than a year since Dizon’s death last Nov. 27, 2004, said she still does not know what to do next. She did not fail to thank her lawyer Dante Ramos, who took the case for free.
Belandres, on the other hand, did not shed a tear after he heard he was sentenced to death.
“Ayaw mo’g duol nako (Don’t come near me)!” he shouted, as his family and other supporters shooed away reporters who wanted to get his reaction.
His wife and five children were all crying, but Belandres was heard saying, “Ayaw mo’g kabalaka (Don’t worry).”
Relatives and supporters of Belandres gathered around him and took their time before leaving the courtroom.
Defense lawyer Pedro Leslie Salva only said, “I’m not satisfied with the decision, we will definitely appeal.”
After the promulgation, Judge Ireneo Gako told reporters, “I am not happy with my decision, but I based it on the evidence...it is a vindication for the life of Dizon.”
He said it is not easy to sentence a person to death.
Gako based his ruling on the testimonies of three witnesses, who are now under the custody of the Department of Justice.
His decision on the photojournalist’s murder came at a time when everything is set for tomorrow’s basic defensive pistol class for Cebu’s beat journalists.
Col. Ceferino Layao of the Kamagong Gun Club Inc. said the resource person from the American Shooting Centers and the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), Rey Abad, will arrive in Cebu at 8 a.m. today.
Armscor, which is sponsoring the event, is supplying the ammunition for the participants. It has also provided a “house gun” for those who don’t yet own a firearm.
Tomorrow’s activity is broken up into two parts—a lecture on gun safety and defensive firearm tactics at the AFP Reservists’ Center in the morning followed by range work in the afternoon.
The seminar was organized following a request from a handful of members from both the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster in Pilipinas (KBP) Cebu chapter and the Cebu Federation of Beat Journalists.
Abad is the younger brother of KBP Executive Vice President Ed Abad.
Jonathan Tumulak, the federation president, said there are people in their roster who are licensed firearm holders and who lament the absence of a venue where they can learn firearm skills. (JGA/KNR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 20, 2006 issue)
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