Apura laid to rest

CEBU, Philippines - Emotions filled the air in a private cemetery where Carl Vinson Apura was laid to rest in Carcar City yesterday afternoon.

Carl, 25, youngest son of Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura and Valladolid Barangay Captain Mercedita Apura was murdered Sunday last week while at a disco in Sitio Upper Tubod, Valladolid.

Mercedita collapsed as she viewed her son for the last time during the funeral at the Visayas Memorial Park in Barangay Poblacion. The police estimated the crowd at 3,500.

Aside from the members of the Apura clan, Carl's fraternity brothers in Alpha Kappa Rho also attended his burial.

The funeral service started at 12:30 p.m. with a requiem mass at the St. Catherine Church. The mass was celebrated by Msgr. Rolando Gimenez.

Carl's black coffin was wrapped with a Philippine flag because he was a former Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman.

"Death does not mean the end but to go home to a place where somebody knows God," Gimenez consoled the Apura family in his homily.

Mayor Apura who tried to be strong throughout the mass failed to hold back his tears when the final blessing was administered on his son.

In his eulogy, the Mayor thanked those who shared their grief. He said his son's death made him realized how loved his family is by his constituents.

Mayor Apura said that what had happened was the biggest trial his family has encountered so far.

"Mao ni ang pinaka-grabe nga butang nga nakapahugno sa among pagbati pero di na mabalik ang kinabuhi sa akong anak (this is the worst thing that ever happened to us but we cannot bring back the life of my son)," he said.

The Mayor wore Carl's Oakley sunglasses during the funeral. He said Carl had been asking him before to wear it because he wanted him to look young.

"Iya gyud ni ipamugos nako og pasul-ob kaniadto aron choy kuno ko tan-awn pero karon pa nako masul-ob which would always reminds me of him," Nicepuro said.

Carl also left behind his common-law wife and a three-year-old son.

Carl was shot dead Sunday last week while at a disco party. His attacker, Jay Boy Lauron, was already arrested by the police during a hot pursuit operation. Also arrested was Jethro Lapina who allegedly helped Lauron escaped after the shooting. – (FREEMAN)