Thursday, May 29, 2008 Wenceslao: Presing By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
PARTLY my fault, really. But I did try Googling “Priscillano Gingoyon” and “Presing Gingoyon” and only got a couple of entries or two, one of them a lengthy court decision on a long-ago case that mentioned Gingoyon only in passing. I thought of checking the Sun.Star library but realized Presing died before Sun.Star ran its first issue.
I could have done more, of course, but pressed for time and because of the other things on the table, I could not do anything much but rely on my hazy recollection of the man. But when I mentioned Presing in my column about the killing of Priscillano Gingoyon Jr. and Richard Sison, I expected reactions from readers who knew the old cop.
One text message (0910-7356534) claimed that Presing was shot dead in an encounter with the police and that he was among those suspected of robbing a bank near the USJ-R campus. The texter mentioned the name of one of the cops in that encounter who is still alive and is residing in Liloan town.
Another texter (0910-8051111) said that Gingoyon Sr. was killed in an encounter with fellow cops in a gasoline station in Martires St. (near the old provincial jail) in the ‘70s. My paisano, Engr. Tibo Serato of Camotes island, texted that Presing was gunned down by men of then city police chief “Mangubat” at a gasoline station in Gorordo.
If my memory serves me right, a movie on Presing was once made. But then again, I could not be sure. What I am sure, however, is that every generation the police force churn colorful figures, either for their bad deeds or good deeds. Names like Sable, Ricardo, Navales, Codiñera, etc. were, say, spoken in awe and fear by criminal elements.
Anyway, my interest in Presing is linked to what happened to the young Gingoyon. The violent deaths that became the fate of the older and the younger Gingoyon are tragic. I felt the same way when actor Brandon Lee died in a freak accident while shooting a film. Years before, his father Bruce Lee died after taking a muscle relaxant.
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My batch mates in City Central School describe one of us, Wilfreda Lepiten-Misterio as a workaholic, which is not bad considering she is top gun of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in the region. Pedang said OWWA and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration will hold an Overseas Job Fair on June 7 at 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at E-Mall in time for the Migrant Workers Day celebration.
Twenty-five agencies will join with various job orders. Applicants are asked to pre-register at the Department of Manpower Development and Placement of Cebu City Hall at the second floor of Ramos Market along F. Ramos St.
