Slain robber's Ma: 'Why kill him?'

GEOMARK Hisuler Tayros, one of the four Mandaue City mall heist suspects killed by the Bogo City police, had worked as a farmer, then as a helper in a thrift shop.

His mother, Godofreda Hisuler Abelidas, described him as a good guy. But if her son did something wrong, she said he should have been given a chance to live and mend his ways.

“Wala lang unta patya. Gipriso lang unta (He should have not been killed. He could just be imprisoned),” Abelidas said.

When asked if she wants her son’s death investigated, she said she has no money to pursue a legal battle against the police.

“Asa man kog ibayad sa abogado (Where would I source the fees for a lawyer)?” she asked.

Tayros was earlier identified by the police as Kevin Plaza Andales. He was allegedly part of the 15-man group that robbed three jewelry shops, a money changer and a pawnshop in J Centre Mall on Saturday night, Oct. 19, 2019.

Teams of police officers pursued them, resulting in the arrest of Tayros, Roel Sumingit, Juvilyn Quirante, Arnel Cimafranca, Wilfredo Enguito, James Gomez, Jun Candelaria, Philip Faburada and the group’s suspected leader—Glen Tairos. Aside from Tayros, Enguito, Faburada and Tairos were killed by the police after they reportedly tried to snatch the arresting officers’ firearms.

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 7 chief investigator Leo Villarino said a team will conduct an investigation on the four suspects’ deaths, stating it would want to know how they died in police custody.

Defending his personnel, Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Director Roderick Mariano said the arresting officers did not plan to murder the four suspects.

“We would want them to be alive, so they could be given a chance to explain why they did it,” he said in Tagalog.

Mariano said he is willing to let his personnel face inquiry by the CHR 7. The CPPO has obtained a security camera that shows three of the suspects arriving at the bus terminal in Bogo City, carrying with them backpacks that might contain jewelry and cash.

The CPPO has submitted the footage to the cybercrime unit for its enhancement. It also coordinated with the Mandaue City Police Office.

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 22, Abelidas arrived in Cebu from Barangay Lumban, Tangub City in Misamis Occidental. She learned about her son’s fate through a Facebook post that was shown to her by her relatives.

She said one of the posts shows her son’s hands placed in handcuffs behind him. A man, believed to be a police officer, places his arm on Tayros’s shoulder. Another picture posted on Facebook shows the dead body of Tayros, which shocked Abelidas.

Tairos’s first-degree cousin Lorela Ladua positively identified his body. Abelidas said she is not related to Tairos, and she had not known him before. She could not recall that her son had been involved in any criminal activity in the past.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Tayros’s body was scheduled to be shipped back to Tangub City.

Last March, Tayros asked his mother to get him a barangay clearance, telling her he would work in Cagayan de Oro City as a timekeeper in a construction firm.

“That was our last conversation. Afterwards, he did not return to Misamis Occidental. I did not know he was in Cebu,” Abelidas said. (WBS, from AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, KAL)

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