WHILE saying Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernan-dez did not offer her money, Merceditha Abellana yesterday confirmed she was given P10,000 as payment for the hospitalization of two of her vulcanizing shop workers.
Merceditha said Fernan-dez handed her an envelope bearing the cash at her shop at about 3 p.m. last Oct. 4, a day after she withdrew the robbery case against the mayor’s adopted son, Joavan.
Reporters sought Merce-ditha’s comment after Oscar Abellana, her brother-in-law, and Osbert, Oscar’s son, applied for the witness protection program, reportedly after receiving threats.
But before she got the envelope, Merceditha said the mayor called up her boss, the shop owner, informing him about the money as repayment.
It was reported that Merceditha sought financial help from her boss for the medical treatment of her nephews and shop workers - Osbert, 21 and Winston, 18.
The Abellana cousins were badly beaten up allegedly by Joavan and five others in Sitio Lower Mansueto, Barangay Bula-cao over the missing spare tire of Fernandez’s service vehicle last Aug. 11.
Through the mayor’s help, Merceditha said her son, Bienvenido Jr., will also start working as a job-order employee at City Hall on Oct. 15.
The 46-year-old widow said Bienvenido was supposed to start working early this month but he was still a minor then. He just turned 18 last Oct. 7.
“I’m told to visit the mayor on Monday,” said Bienvenido, the second of Merceditha’s five siblings, in a separate mobile phone interview.
Merceditha said Fernandez also promised to support the college education of Bienvenido, who had stopped taking his electronics course due to lack of money.
She also said Winston already had a punch card as job order worker at City Hall and even worked under the mayor’s environmental task force for two days. He was reportedly assigned to Barangay Lagtang, mixing sand and cement for a concreting project.
Winston, however, never showed up the next day as he reportedly feared getting manhandled again.
Talisay City Human Resource and Development Officer Emely Cabrera earlier said Winston was not among the newly-hired employees at City Hall.
But Merceditha clarified that she got the support of Fernandez through Rolando, a brother-in-law, who reportedly arranged a meeting with the mayor at a grill house in Barangay Linao last week.
Oscar earlier said Rolando, his younger brother, was acting as a negotiator between them and Fernandez, apparently working out for the withdrawal of the case against Joavan.
Oscar even quoted Rolando as saying that Merceditha got P20,000 not P10,000, to pay her debts.
“It’s better that she should be charged criminally in court for retracting her statements,” he said.
But Fernandez, when sought for comment yesterday afternoon, neither confirmed nor denied that he personally handed cash to Merceditha.
Fernandez merely said Merceditha had violated her sworn statement that she voluntarily withdrew the criminal case against Joavan without any force or monetary consideration.
He said it was the Abellanas who took the initiative to approach him as they were reportedly no longer interested to pursue the case.
Merceditha charged Joavan with robbery for allegedly taking away a 21-inch Sanyo television and the DVD player of Winston’s father, Jimmy, as guarantees for Fernan-dez’s missing spare tire.
But in her affidavit of desistance, Merceditha blamed Osbert as the one who took the appliances and handed these over to Joavan.
Meanwhile, Merceditha admitted her affidavit of desistance had inconsistencies. The affidavit clearing Joavan of any criminal liability was prepared by lawyer George Bragat, she said.
Despite this, Merceditha signed it, saying she only wanted to have peace of mind and restore their good relations with Fernandez, whom she said is the cousin of her late husband.
“I’m a single parent of my children. I supported them through my laundry earnings and we even had to eat porridge for a week,” a teary-eyed Merceditha said.
Merceditha said she is set to re-open the vulcanizing shop this week as Fernandez promised to facilitate the release of the shop’s business permit. (GC)
