Bloody friday in the south: 5 slain in 24 hours

CEBU, Philippines — Bodies continue to pile up in Cebu.

In a span of about 24 hours, five people, including a barangay councilman, were felled in three separate shooting incidents in Talisay City and Minglanilla town, adding to the long list of victims who have died in the hands of unknown gunmen.

Art Stephen Bas, 25, a councilman of Lagtang, Talisay City, was driving a white Ford Everest to school at around 8 a.m. yesterday when he was waylaid by three unidentified assailants onboard two motorcycles while traversing the Cebu South Coastal Road in Sitio Bihonan, Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City.

The two motorcycles “sandwiched” Stephen’s vehicle and the assailants fired at him before speeding off towards the direction of Cebu City.

“Nakita sa witness nga nag-motor ang suspects, duha ka nag-motor -- sa wala ug tuo. Ang nagtira nag-backride, diri dapit sa wala (driver side),” said Senior Police Officer 4 Frederick Larrobis, case investigator.

Witnesses said one of the assailants opened the driver’s door after the attack and fired more shots at the victim as if ensuring he would be dead.

Stephen was supposed to graduate this year with a degree in mechanical engineering from a university in Cebu City.

He is a grandson of Talisay City Councilor Arturo Bas and son of former Lagtang, Talisay City barangay captain Marc Ferdinand “Dindin” Bas, who was among the three “narco officials” from Cebu identified by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency back in May.

Stephen suffered several gunshot wounds in different parts of his body.

Reporters tried to get the comments of Stephen’s relatives who rushed to the scene yesterday but they declined media interviews.

Superintendent Marlu Conag, chief of Talisay City police, said they are looking at all possible angles in their investigation, including illegal drugs.

“Ongoing pa ang investigation at titingnan natin lahat ng posibleng motibo. Isa sa titingnan natin ang illegal drugs kasi common knowledge naman iyung sa pamilya nila,” Conag told The FREEMAN over the phone.

Stephen’s father, Ferdinand, was arrested in a raid conducted by operatives of Cebu Provincial Police Office last April in which he yielded a gun, hand grenade, and ammunition. He was among the 207 alleged narco-politicians in the country, according to PDEA.

Asked whether Stephen could have been a victim of mistaken identity, Conag said he could not yet tell at the moment as investigation is still underway.

Police are still gathering CCTV footages from the area that may help identify the attackers.

A total of 15 empty shells of caliber .45 were recovered by the team of Scene of the Crimes Operatives (SOCO) from the scene.

BJMP van attack

Just an hour after the attack on Stephen, a van of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) carrying three inmates to their hearings were strafed by a group of 14 men riding motorcycles just 300 meters away from the Talisay City Jail in Barangay Linao.

Three inmates were killed instantly: Yayam Gaviola, 40; Marwin Abelgas, 27; and Rabadon Jovencio, 36.

BJMP-7 director, Chief Superintendent Arnold Buenacosa, said the victims were onboard the BJMP van with two BJMP escorts enroute to a court in Talisay City for arraignment of their cases.

“May hearing sila, supposed to attend an arraignment sa court. Dalawang van kasi iyung may hearing ngayon. Iyung isang van is sa Cebu City Jail, the other is for arraignment para sa isang court for Talisay,” said Buenacosa.

Gaviola and Abelgas were facing charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 while Jovencio was charged for frustrated murder.

But Buenacosa said the scheduled arraignments were for their violation of city ordinances after they were caught in possession of cellular phones during greyhound operation in the facility.

Police Officer 1 Maverick Polotan, case investigator, said that based on the account of the BJMP escorts, two men first blocked the road by pretending to have been involved in a vehicular accident.

“Morag nadisgrasya kunuhay ba, dayun pag-menor (BJMP vehicle) nition dayon diretso. Ang driver nga wala nag-vest, gitirahan, maayo gani nakahupo. Maoy una gibirahan kay nag-atubang man,” said Polotan.

The suspects allegedly disarmed the jail officers and robbed them of their 9mm service firearms.

“Giingnan sila nga ayaw nalang mo og palag aron dili mo maapil, dako ni og utang namo. Wala naka-retaliate kay nakuha ang ilang armas,” Polotan added.

Moments later, more men riding on six motorcycles arrived and began shooting at the BJMP vehicle which resulted to the death of the three inmates.

At least 18 empty shells and 10 deformed slugs of still undetermined caliber of firearms were recovered from the crime scene.

After the incident, Buenacosa has requested additional SWAT personnel from the Police Regional Office-7 to be deployed in the area. He will also request for police escorts during court hearings of inmates, particularly those considered high risk.

Conag, on the other hand, said they are willing to provide such escorts if there will be directives from regional police headquarters.

He also said that so far, they are still conducting follow-up investigation to identify possible motives behind the attack.

“Hindi naman natin masabi agad na ang inmates ang target since nakita natin na may mga tama din ng baril ang windshield (driver side),” said Conag.

He added that they will include in their investigation the previous strafing incidents aimed at the Talisay City Jail. The facility’s gate, it can be recalled, was strafed at least three separate times in 2017.

Minglanilla shooting

Meanwhile, in the neighboring town of Minglanilla, a man was also shot dead by three unidentified assailants in Sitio Kalubihan, Upper Calajoan at around 9 p.m. Thursday.

The victim was identified as Esperejon Abella, 43, a resident of Barangay Tulay, same town.

Abella was walking when the gunmen appeared and shot him several times, hitting him in different parts of his body.

The suspects are still unidentified and authorities are still conducting an investigation.

Recovered from the area were one empty shell and one slug of caliber 9mm. —  Irene L. Gardose, USJ-R Intern/JMD (FREEMAN)