Wednesday, March 12, 2008 More witnesses for airtight case
DESPITE the filing of robbery with homicide complaints against three suspects in the robbery and murder of a nursing student last week, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will continue to look for witnesses to come up with an airtight case.
So far, Senior Insp. George Ylanan, Task Force Ruby Jade commander, said that at least three witnesses and the extra-judicial confessions of arrested robbery suspects Aivan “Eping” Barabat, 20, and Mark Anthony Gabriel, 18, both members of Crips Gang, will support the charges.
Barabat, who was a criminology student of a university in the city, and Gabriel admitted they robbed Rudy Jade Ruba of her cellular phone past Thursday midnight in Barangay Capitol Site and ended up killing her when she shouted.
Fencing
The third suspect, Karl Marx Carticiano, 21, who was also arrested, denied involvement in the assault.
Barabat and Gabriel were committed to the Cebu City Jail yesterday while Carticiano remains under police custody as the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor conducts a preliminary investigation on the charges the police lodged against him.
Moreover, the woman the police charged with anti-fencing law violations for allegedly buying the mobile phone the other respondents got when they killed Ruby Jade was likewise cleared.
According to the inquest prosecutor, there was not enough evidence to support an indictment.
Also yesterday, another police official called on parents to monitor their children’s activities better and discourage membership in gangs, while Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal called on the faithful to help prevent crime by spreading God’s teachings.
Ylanan and CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador said they would not just rely on the extra-judicial confessions of Barabat and Gabriel.
Witnesses
Comendador and Ylanan yesterday appealed to the other witnesses to come out and help the police in prosecuting the suspects.
Ylanan said he is still waiting for Ruby Jade’s companion when the attack occurred to issue a sworn statement identifying the arrested suspects.
The female companion arrived in Cebu City last Monday afternoon from her hometown in Mindanao.
Ruby Jade’s brother Richie, in a mobile phone interview, yesterday thanked the police for their efforts in arresting the perpetrators.
“Pasalamat ko kay naa’y justice nahimo (We are thankful that justice has been delivered),” Richie said, adding though that the arrest will not bring back his only sister.
Richie told Sun.Star Cebu that Ruby Jade will be buried at 1 p.m. this Saturday in a public cemetery in Macrohon, Southern Leyte.
Richie, who learned about the arrest from a neighbor in Macrohon, expressed his anger on the reason Barabat gave when asked why they robbed Ruby Jade and ended up killing her.
Over a phone
Barabat earlier said that he and his two companions, Gabriel and Carticiano, robbed Ruby Jade for fun and shot her when she shouted. They had been drinking.
“Tungod kay misyagit pusilon diay? Miingon lagi among mga silingan diri, maayo na ipadala dinhi (Macrohon) unya hinay-hinayon og putol-putol (They shot her for shouting? Our neighbors here think these people should be sent to Macrohon so we can cut off their limbs one by one),” he said.
Richie said his family has been overwhelmed by the support and prayers extended by the people in Macrohon and at Cebu Doctors’ University.
He is concerned, however, about his and his younger brother’s safety when they return to Cebu.
After their identities were exposed, Richie said he is worried that other members of the gang might run after them. He hopes that the police will be able to provide security.
Meanwhile, Comendador said, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Ronald Roderos has asked him to submit a report about the arrest of the suspects so that awards can be given to the task force.
Ylanan and police officers Filomeno Mendaros, Jonas Tahanlangit, Edward Abatayo, Philip Plasus, Esmeraldo Quillosa and Milerto Yosores claimed that they were able to establish the names of the respondents in the course of the hot pursuit they conducted immediately after the Ruba killing.
They said their first leads were three aliases, Mark, Eping and Kamat.
“We exerted all our efforts to locate the suspects,” they said.
They got a break when Gabriel got arrested for another case of robbery, the one on Escario St. Gabriel, they said, turned out to be the same Mark they were looking for.
The second break came early dawn of March 10 when Ylanan received a call from an informant that the Eping they were looking for was on B. Rodriguez St. with a group of friends.
They said they immediately went to the area and, using the description the informant gave, collared Eping who turned out to be Barabat.
The arrest of gang members tagged responsible for the death of the nursing student has led a police official to make an appeal to parents to be more involved in their children’s activities.
Second-hand shops
Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Carmelo Valmoria said it was better if the youngsters did not join any of these gangs and fraternities involved in violence.
“Parents should check or monitor the activities of their children. Do not wait for this kind of incident to happen,” he told reporters.
Barabat had said he was only after Ruba’s phone.
“Those guys should have a better future. Sa uban, ayaw namo’g apil ani nga mga grupo. (Don’t join these gangs.) They have created havoc in the community,” Valmoria urged.
Valmoria has also directed police chiefs to make an inventory of second-hand shops in their areas, which are popular places to dispose of stolen goods.
Police chiefs could work with local governments in checking the business permits of these shops, he added.
He also wants police chiefs to organize hired motorcycle drivers and mobilize them as informants so that the unfamiliar faces would easily be identified.
He noted that motorcycles are common getaway vehicles and that it was easy to acquire one because of the low down payment and installment schemes.
Conscience
As the local church’s response to the death of Ruby Jade Ruba, Cardinal Vidal wants to strengthen catechism in the parishes.
He also urged the faithful to observe the celebrations the church is offering in order to follow the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in time for the Holy Week.
“Let us follow the footsteps of our Lord so that we can internalize the meaning of his passion, death and resurrection in our lives, so that we’ll be able to save our souls,” he said.
The archbishop said that the attack signals “the loss of a good conscience” and the diminishing regard for the value of life. “That is why we have to work harder with our catechism,” he told reporters. (JST/With KNR, MEA & NRC)
