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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
One dead; cop, 3 others hurt in group fight
By Rene H. Martel
CEBU CITY -- The feast day of St. John the Baptist in Sitio San Juan, Barangay Poblacion, Toledo City ended on a bloody note after armed men shot a policeman trying to pacify a rumble between two groups.
A man was killed while four persons, including the policeman, were wounded.
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A few hours later, two teenagers who came from an errand were shot dead on the roadside in Carmen town.
In the Toledo City incident, PO1 Arman Enriquez, who lives in the area, ran to the place where a benefit dance was being held after hearing gunshots.
When he arrived, he saw Bienvenido Baroma running with a .357 revolver.
Enriquez chased Baroma, but the latter allegedly dropped to his knees and aimed directly at Enriquez.
He shot Enriquez in the abdomen.
Though wounded, Enriquez managed to grab his gun and fire at Baroma twice. He was hit in the leg and chest.
Both were taken to the Toledo City District Hospital, where Baroma was declared dead. Enriquez, on the other hand, was transferred to a private hospital.
Police said the bullet hit his belt and that only splinters were able to penetrate his abdomen.
Zambo’s close-in bodyguard, PO2 Ruben Pajelino, also happened to be nearby and ran to arrest three of the group members.
He did not see a third man point a gun at him from behind.
Pajelino considers himself lucky that the man’s gun failed to fire even if the trigger was pulled thrice.
He had to hear his frantic wife shout at him before he turned to see that the man was behind him. The still unidentified man was able to flee.
Bystanders ganged up on three of the group members, who each had a loaded .357 revolver.
They were identified as Salem Alegado, 18; Artemio Nadela, 37; and Jonathan Pardillo, 32.
The three and Baroma hail from Barangay Captain Claudio, Toledo City.
In an interview with reporters, the three claimed they merely wanted to attend the dance but another group reportedly got envious.
“I don’t know why they were jealous of our companion,” said Pardillo, saying the other group took particular interest on Alegado.
Alegado said that when he entered the dance area, someone intentionally hit him.
The trouble started when someone from the other group allegedly pulled out an ice pick.
Superintendent Leodegardo Acebedo, Toledo City Police Chief, said those arrested were involved in a similar melee in last year’s fiesta.
They were victims of “paregla” or an unprovoked attack last year. Acebedo said he believes they returned last Sunday to retaliate.
The tanods in the area reportedly urged them to leave but they allegedly vowed to stay and fight back.
Toledo City Mayor Arlene Zambo has assured that the City will provide cash assistance to Enriquez, who is assigned at the Balamban Police Station.
She also told Acebedo to double or strengthen police visibility during activities such as neighborhood dances.
Acebedo, though, admitted it will be hard to provide police details for every benefit dance held in the city because they only have 56 policemen.
Because the dance in Sitio San Juan was not far from the police station, he decided not to detail a policeman there and instead instructed the alert team assigned to patrol the city to include the dance in their patrols.
He also said barangay tanods were in the area to help maintain order.
Acebedo explained that he could only prioritize critical areas that are far.
Zambo said they have long requested for additional personnel because tanods could only do so much.
“Kinahanglan gwardiyahan gyud. Tanods cannot carry guns so wa sila’y mahimo. Dili sad kalikayan nga naa’y mga hubog kay pista gud (We need to increase security. We can’t stop people from getting drunk because it’s a fiesta),” Zambo told reporters.
Meanwhile, in the Carmen shooting, Arnel Requiza Iwayan and his friend Tomas Villamor, both 18, came from Tuburan town after Iwayan’s father, Felix, sent them on an errand.
Both were found dead in Carmen with gunshot wounds on their head and chest.
When they reached the boundary of the towns of Catmon and Carmen, the motorcycle Arnel was driving ran out of gasoline. He sent a text message to his father asking him to bring him gasoline.
As he and Villamor dragged the motorcycle up to Barangay Puente, Carmen, unidentified persons shot them dead.
Felix, who was on his way to bring gasoline to Arnel, only saw his dead son lying on the road.
Felix had reached the town of Borbon looking for his son and his friend. Failing to see them, he used up the gasoline he was bringing for them to return home.
Felix then passed a group of onlookers and investigators of the Carmen Police Station and decided to see what was going on.
Inspector Carlos Reyes, Carmen Police Chief, said they ruled out a robbery in the incident because the gunmen did not bother to run off with the victims’ wallets, cellular phones and motorcycle.
Three angles are being pursued by investigators: that the two were victims of a mistaken identity or were victims of “paregla,” it was fraternity related or it involved a love triangle.
However, Reyes is not too keen on the fraternity angle.
Witnesses said they heard six gunshots at about 1:30 a.m. A barangay tanod told police that he then saw a motorcycle with two men fleeing the area.
The motorcycle driven by Arnel was parked nearby.
Both were in their senior year at the Carmen National High School. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (June 26, 2007 issue)
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