THE city fiscal's office had already transcribed on Thursday, August 10, 2023, Simeon Gabutero aka Gabro's extrajudicial confession over his claim that he alone killed Rhea Mae Tocmo, who was dumped in Sitio Mohon, Barangay Tisa, Cebu City.
However, the relatives of the victim were not convinced by the statement made by the Labangon Police Station that Gabutero had admitted to the crime because the police allegedly did not present him or the CCTV evidence, which would have shown Gabutero's guilt, to the media.
On Friday, August 11, Police Major Angelito Valleser, the head of the Labangon Police Station, showed CCTV footage of a motorcycle allegedly driven by Gabutero from Sitio Kabulakan, Banawa, Cebu City to Barangay Tisa with a cardboard containing Rhea Mae's body and his 13-year-old brother on its back.
It can be seen in CCTV that the motorcycle passed through Sitio Kabulakan at 10:17 p.m., the next video footage is located near Paseo del Mar and the last video saw them passing near the Tisa public market, which is just a few meters away from the place where the cardboard was thrown.
The younger brother of the suspect revealed to the police that he did not know that they brought a human body.
"Ang nag backride nga maoy naggunit sa carton ang iyang manghod, kay matod pa sa iyang manghod igo ra sad siya nga gisugo sa iyang manoy nga dong kuyog sa ta kay naa tay ihatod. Pag-abot ngadto matod pa sa iyang manghod pag-abot didto gi-parking ang motor nanaog si Gabro, giitsa ang carton didto sa kilid sa karsada unya namalik na sila," Valleser said.
(The backrider who was holding the carton was his younger brother and claimed that he had only been asked by his manoy or older brother to go with him to deliver something. He claimed that when they got there, his older brother parked the motorcycle, got out, and dropped the carton beside the road before they headed back).
Valleser stated that they will look into whether Gabutero's younger sibling would also be charged with a crime since he is a minor.
The mother of Gabutero also disclosed that on July 16, early in the morning, her son asked them to go to the house of their neighbor, a relative, and that is why they missed seeing the victim Rhea Mae, 19.
She said that Gabutero was already sweating when they returned around 7 a.m., which showed that he had done something wrong, but she did not mind because she did not find a dead body inside the room, suspecting that it was placed under the bed.
In a media interview, Michelle Campana, the house's caretaker, claimed that Gabutero told her that they wanted to relocate to another room quickly on July 16 at night without providing any other details.
She claimed that despite the room still needing to be cleaned, Gabutero insisted on moving in with his mother and brother.
"Niana siya nga mobalhin na kuno sila kay naghuot na sila ug dili na siya maka-afford sa P2,000 nga abangan, so pagka July 16 sa gabii mibalhin sila sa room nga tag P1,600. Ako giingnan ang mama nga nganong mamalhin man mo dayon te nga hugaw pa kaayo diha naa pay tae sa ilaga, wala pay floor mat. Ako sila giingnan nga ugma na lang aron mapalitan siya og floor mat, kay ngano tugnaw man kaayo na diha inig katulog ninyu. Niadtong tayma wala ko kabalo nga mibalhin gyud sila, diha nako nakabalo pag-gawas naku aron manira sa gate," Campana said.
(He (Gabutero) said that they would be moving since they were too crowded and he couldn't pay the P2,000 rent, so on the evening of July 16, they relocated to a P1,600 room. I asked the mother why they were in a hurry as the room was still filthy, covered in rat droppings, and without a floor mat. I told them to move the next day so I could buy a floor mat because the room is cold. I was unaware that they had already transferred. I only knew when I went out to close the gate).
The family of Rhea Mae, according to Valleser, could not be blamed for having doubts about Gabutero's guilt because they are still unaware of the evidence that the police have.
The victim's sibling in Mindanao, he claimed, had told him they wouldn't be able to travel to Cebu this week.
Even if the victim's family is unable to attend, according to Valleser, they will be the ones to lodge a complaint against the suspect.
He advised the Tocmo family to first look at the evidence before coming to a conclusion, because all the evidence they have points to Gabutero as the culprit.
Meanwhile, Gabutero apologized to the Tocmo family for what he did.
He admitted in a media interview that he killed Rhea Mae on July 16 at 6 a.m. inside their room in Sitio Sampaguita, Banawa,
He said he was ready to face the punishment that will be imposed on him by the court.
“Mangayo lang ko’g pasaylo ba sa pamilya ni Rhea Mae ba, kay napatay man nako siya unya biktima man sad ko ani, biktima sa pasalig. Ako nalang ni serbisyohan sir,” Gabutero said.
(I just want to say sorry to Rhea Mae's family, because I killed her, and since I am also a victim here, victim of a broken promise. I will serve (my jail sentence) sir).
He added that he was supposed to marry Rhea Mae when she completed her education.
Marjun Caril, the habal-habal driver who Rhea Mae hired to take her from Looc in Mandaue City to Barangay Guadalupe, also showed up at the Labangon Police Station.
Caril, a resident of Lapu-lapu City, claimed that he only recently realized that he was the victim's rider after seeing his motorcycle’s color on a CCTV clip that went viral on the social media.
He claimed that he was paid P300 by Rhea Mae to bring her to Guadalupe and that he had no intention of hiding.
Because the issue was immediately addressed, the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) will give a commendation to the concerned officers of the Cebu City Police Office.
PRO 7 Director Police Brigadier General Anthony Aberin stated that he was happy with the outcome of the investigation because the case was dealt with right away.(AYB, TPT)