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Friday, June 17, 2005
Youth picked up on phone theft, killed
By Mia E. Abellana
CEBU CITY -- A day after he warned his common-law wife that he would either be jailed or salvaged, a man was picked up for questioning last Thursday night, then shot dead.
Town police held a barangay councilor and four tanods, as they were the ones who handcuffed Lexter Dumasig, 23, and told him to accompany them to the Cantao-an Barangay Hall in Naga town.
Councilor Edito Sasan, 45, denied they shot Dumasig, saying a man hidden in the shrubs ran after two gunshots were heard.
But members of Dumasig's family and his common-law wife could not blame anyone except the barangay officials.
Police detained Sasan and tanods Marcos Alingalan, Ireneo Alingalan and Juanito Hermida and will have them undergo a paraffin test to determine if any of them fired a gun.
The tanods went to a house Dumasig was visiting, after one Antonio Tapangan reported to them that the man who stole his cellular phone was in the area.
Sasan said they wanted to talk to Dumasig and confront him about the allegations, but the neighbors got restless and wanted to pounce on Dumasig.
Sasan is the barangay council's chairperson for peace and order and is often called upon to respond to alarms.
Visit
Dumasig went to see his common-law wife Maria Natad at her father's house in Sitio Magdook, after they were separated for nearly a year.
Natad explained that Dumasig went there so that he could see his four-month-old son for the first time.
A day before, Dumasig sent her a letter telling her that he loved them and that he was disappointed that they were not at his parents' house during the fiesta in Barangay Inayagan.
He also told her that if he disappeared, she would know that he was either jailed or salvaged.
"Sa una pa na siya nag-ingon nako ana. Mao bitaw to nga siga siya og hangyo nga muadto ko sa ilaha para magkita mi (He'd been telling me that for a long time. That's why he'd been pleading for me to visit him in his house so we'll see each other)," Natad said in Cebuano.
Dumasig, in his letter, said he was just hiding. He did not explain.
Right after Dumasig was picked up for questioning, Natad heard two gunshots.
Near house
When she came out, she saw Dumasig sprawled on the ground, barely 10 meters away from the house.
Sasan and the tanods said a man hiding behind the bush ran after the gunshots rang out, but they didn't see clearly who it was because the area was dark.
Investigator Police Officer 2 Romeo Bolaño said they can't conclude yet if the barangay officials are suspects in the killing, but pointed out that they committed some lapses.
"They arrested and handcuffed him without a warrant. That should not be," Bolaño pointed out.
He said an invitation for questioning should only take place during daytime with prior notice.
Bolaño said that at past 9 p.m., Sasan and the other tanods arrived at the police station to report a shooting incident.
The team arrived to see Dumasig's body still sprawled on the ground.
Father
Bolaño said no empty cartridges were found in the scene.
Natad told reporters that he spent some time in jail. After his release, he went to Negros Oriental to find work.
"He was crying. He was so happy that he had a son," Natad said in Cebuano. Their eldest daughter is two years old.
Natad said Dumasig was once jailed for drugs and then accused of stealing Tapangan's cellphone a year ago.
Dumasig's grandmother Ledivina Ubas and aunt Suciela Amodia vowed to push through with the case against the barangay officials.
"Who else killed him? They were the ones who took him," Ubas said. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex) |
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