Thursday, June 19, 2008
Prosecutors say Ermita tanod chief not justified in shooting drunk fruit vendor in Carbon
A HOMICIDE charge was filed yesterday against the Barangay Ermita chief tanod who allegedly shot a 14-year-old early on Father’s Day while in pursuit of a drunk fruit vendor.
Prosecutor Rudolph Joseph Carrillo approved the charges yesterday after deliberating whether to change the homicide complaint against Ermita barangay tanod Beltran Bosque to that of reckless imprudence resulting to homicide.
But after a consultation with City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon, the “reckless imprudence resulting to homicide” complaint, which carries an P8,000 bail, was changed into a homicide charge, with a P15,000 bail.
Reckless imprudence comes with carelessness in performing a line of duty. Sellon and Carrillo, however, decided that Bosque was not justified in shooting at Wilson Bagol, the drunk fruit vendor said to have been carrying a bolo.
Bagol, who was hit on the left thigh, was shot at by one of three tanods who chased him. The tanods were responding to an alarm from the Carbon market at 1:00 a.m. last Sunday.
Affidavit
The affidavit executed by Bosque said that when the tanods arrived on the scene, they ran after Bagol right away. It did not indicate any provocation from Bagol.
Bosque denied he hit Junard, the 14-year-old son of Ananias Anter. He added that he even helped bring the wounded boy to the hospital, where Junard was declared dead.
Bosque said that after a bullet hit Junard, he looked around for help but everyone else had hidden in fear.
He then found a multicab parked nearby and convinced its driver to bring Junard to the hospital.
According to Carrillo, P15,000 is the minimum bail amount for homicide. Maximum bail is at P40,000.
Carrillo said the bail was set to the minimum because Bosque’s shooting had been done “in the line of duty” and he had consistently shown good conduct as a tanod.
Bail
Ermita Barangay Captain Felicisimo Rupinta said Bosque had won as the city’s best barangay tanod three times in a row.
That is why, Rupinta said, he immediately paid the bail, using personal funds, at the Office of the City Prosecutor yesterday.
Bosque will resume his regular duties as tanod chief after being released from the Carbon Police Station.
Tests, meanwhile, indicated that Bosque recently fired a gun. He was found positive of gunpowder nitrates residue in both hands.
Senior Insp. Mario Monilar, homicide section chief, said his office received past noon yesterday a copy of the results of the paraffin test conducted by the PNP Crime Laboratory 7.
The chief tanod earlier admitted to Monilar that he fired a gun during the incident but was not sure if it hit Junard. When Bosque surrendered to police investigators last Monday, he did not sign an affidavit of confession.
Last Tuesday, Anter and his family went to the prosecutor’s office to file the complaint. The Anters, however, almost signed an affidavit of desistance from filing charges.
Carrillo said he did not know who had made the affidavit of desistance. According to Ananias, the desistance affidavit came from Rupinta.
He claimed that Rupinta had asked him to drop the charges but would not agree to Anter’s condition that the captain or Bosque pay for the medical, legal and funeral fees.
Order
Rupinta earlier declined to comment on the allegation that he had intervened in the filing of charges, adding that he would extend help both to the Anters and to Bosque.
Meanwhile, Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador plans to issue an order to all the 11 police station chiefs to coordinate with the barangay officials in
their respective jurisdictions to discourage tanods from carrying unlicensed firearms.
Comendador said he would also ask the Association of Barangay Councils, through its president Eugenio Faelnar, about his plan.
He said tanods carrying firearms have been a perennial problem discussed by police and barangay officials during their monthly Oplan Pakigsandurot meeting.
Police have always reminded tanods, who also attended the meeting, not to carry unlicensed firearms.
“But there are some (tanods) who just really can’t understand,” Comendador said.
He reiterated that tanods are never allowed to bring firearms unless it is support by documents like license and permit to carry outside the residence. (KAB/JST)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 19, 2008 issue)
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