Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Tanod chief - I fired the gun
THE chief tanod of Barangay Ermita was arrested yesterday and detained at the stockade of the Cebu City Police Office in Camp Sotero Cabahug after owning up the shooting at the Carbon Market last Sunday that left a 14-year-old boy dead and an alleged drunk man injured.
Senior Insp. Mario Monilar, Homicide Section chief, said Beltran Bosque admitted firing his gun during the incident but was not sure if it hit the boy.
Ananias Anter, father of the 14-year-old victim Junard, also identified Bosque as the one with a firearm among the three responding tanods.
Bosque underwent paraffin test to determine if he had fired a gun lately.
Monilar said that because of the circumstances surrounding Junard’s death, the Homicide Section will be filing only a homicide case against Bosque.
Junard was hit in the chest when Bosque’s team of tanods chased and shot an alleged drunk man identified as 27-year-old Wilson Bagol past 1 a.m. last Sunday.
He was standing beside the trisikad driven by Ananias at the corner of F. Gonzales and Lincoln Sts. in Ermita.
Bagol was hit in the left thigh.
Monilar said Ermita Barangay Captain Felicisimo Rupinta helped the police in the investigation and in pinning down the perpetrator.
He said Rupinta was the one who asked Bosque to show up to the Homicide Section past 2 p.m. yesterday to relate to police investigators what transpired during the shooting.
“In fairness to Kap (Rupinta), he helped in the investigation. He did not intervene,” Monilar said.
Monilar added that they will proceed with the filing of the complaint despite Rupinta’s alleged effort to settle the case with Junard’s father.
“As far our job is concerned, we will file the case in the proper forum. The aggrieved party is the people of the Philippines. A complaint would be filed,” he pointed out.
Ananias, in an earlier interview with reporters at the Homicide Section yesterday morning, alleged that Rupinta tried to settle the case in exchange for some monetary considerations.
Rupinta declined to issue any comment yesterday.
Ananias said he is still confused and that his priority right now is Junard’s burial.
But while he does not have money to cover the burial expenses, he said he would not settle the case because he wants justice for his son.
Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador said he would ask the Homicide Section to also determine if Bosque’s firearm has documents that allow him to legally own and carry it.
But Monilar said the Homicide Section has yet to determine the gun used by Bosque.
Comendador said a tanod may carry a firearm as long as the gun has the needed legal documents, but he should also undergo training on gun safety and on being a responsible gun holder.
Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña pushed for the training of barangay tanods and security volunteers in firearms proficiency following the Ermita incident.
But the barangays themselves should facilitate the training, he said, like what is being done in eight barangays in the north district.
Osmeña said he is in favor of arming barangay tanods and volunteers because of the shortage of policemen, but those who carry firearms should be trained and should not use their guns indiscriminately.
He also called on barangay officials to carefully select the tanods and those who will be armed. (JST/LCR)
