ONE of the three persons wounded after getting caught in the crossfire between two rival youth gangs in Barangay Parian, Cebu City around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, died in the hospital at 10:39 a.m. on the same day.
Anthony Bolocon Corro, 37, of Bonifacio St., Barangay Tejero, Cebu City was declared dead by attending physician Paulo Chester Fabian, three days before Christmas.
Corro, who had two young children, succumbed to a gunshot wound in the back from a bullet that also damaged his kidney.
The victim was walking home with his wife after attending a Misa de Gallo (dawn mass) at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral when he was hit by a stray bullet.
Executive Msgt. Vincent Aguanta, a policeman assigned in Consolacion but lives in the area, who was cleaning his car outside his home on Bonifacio St., was also hit in his right arm, while another mass goer, Donna Blair Banzon, sustained a gunshot wound on her chin. They are now recuperating in the hospital.
The members of Amersan Fam involved in the shootout have been arrested in a follow-up operation, while those of the rival group Marka Tabla are still being hunted down by the Parian police.
One of those arrested was reportedly one of the two gunmen.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) identified the suspects as a certain Junior Jumao-as, 18, of Alcohol St., Barangay Zapatera; James Batarlo, 18, of Sitio Putat, Barangay Tejero; Anthony Revilleza alias Nino Barro, 18, of A. Valle, Barangay T. Padilla; Ronald Revilleza, 27, of Sitio Bukog, T. Padilla; and April Boy Regala Turno, 19, of P. del Rosario St., Barangay Sambag 1.
Parian Police Station chief Maj. Efren Diaz said they were able to identify the suspects from CCTV footage of the area and through their group chat.
“Because of our witnesses, our continuous investigation regarding this case, we identified the suspects. Then through follow-up operations on the suspects, we were able to enter their group chats,” Diaz said.
The CCTV footage shows that two members of Amersan Fam started the trouble by opening fire on their opponents who retreated towards Bonifacio St. but later returned fire, causing a commotion in the area. It was learned that the conflict between the two groups arose from jealousy.
“According to our investigation, it was because of women that the trouble started,” said Diaz.
Women from one of the gangs reportedly joined members of the other gang in attending Misa de Gallo at the Cathedral, angering members of the opposite gang.
Condemnation
The Cebu City Government condemned the shootout that led to the death of Corro and wounding of two others.
Councilor Phillip Zafra, chairman of the committee on peace and order, told SunStar Cebu Friday, Dec. 23, that he had asked the CCPO to arrest the persons responsible before Christmas.
“I condemn this incident. It’s sad to know that there are still people like that,” said Zafra.
Zafra said if it could hasten the investigation, he would recommend to Mayor Michael Rama to give cash rewards to those who could lead to the arrest of the remaining perpetrators.
The councilor added that he will ask the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Development Office to assess what assistance could be extended to the family of the deceased.
According to Zafra, the incident was an isolated case but he has urged the CCPO to monitor these gangs and determine where they obtained their firearms.
The CCPO is also considering conducting checkpoints not only for motorcycles but also for all other kinds of vehicles to prevent violent crimes in the city, he added.
With a police ratio of one for every 1,500 people, Zafra admitted that police officers cannot be in all places at all times.
Heartbreak
When all they wished while attending the Misa de Gallo was for their family to be healthy and spared from any accidents, Annie Rose Corro, Anthony’s wife, shared how heart-shattering the sudden passing of her husband has been.
In an interview with GMA 7’s Balitang Bisdak on Friday, Annie lamented that the day the incident happened was their seventh day of attending the Misa de Gallo.
“We were just walking on the street when he (Anthony) suddenly shouted in pain. I did not even know what happened until I heard several people shouting and I saw him wounded,” Annie said.
“When I watched the CCTV footage, which was so hard for me, it was only there that I realized those youth were just behind us,” she said.
She said completing the nine dawn masses before Christmas had been their yearly tradition as a family.
Annie said Anthony was a good provider for their family, a good husband, and a loving father to their children ages seven and 11 years old. “All he asked while we were at the hospital was if our kids had already eaten their breakfast,” Annie said in Cebuano.
Anthony was a worker on a farm in Mandaue City.
Annie appealed to the police to patrol the area following what happened, saying the Parian Police Station is very near and yet she had never seen a single policeman in the area.
She also urged the remaining suspects to surrender to the police. (TPT / With IRT and HIC)