MURDER and frustrated murder charges were filed before the City Prosecutor’s Office last Friday against a member of a prominent family clan in Cagayan de Oro in connection to a fatal free-for-all brawl at the city’s Taguanao bridge in Barangay Indahag, over the weekend.
This, as Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy, appealed on air, calling for the surrender of 27-year-old Stephen Neri from Muco, Zayas, Barangay Carmen for ramming to death a certain John Paul Levita, who was a year younger than the suspect.
Identified as the one who drove a black Hyundai Accent car, Neri also hit and injured some others, following a bottle-breaking melee between two warring groups who were drinking till dawn at Taguanao’s Pelaez Bridge on October 9.
One Rufus Levita, 22 is still in critical condition. While the other victims Jhane Valerie Canonero, 18 and a resident of Bacoor, Cavite, and Prince B. Lopez, 19 are also confined in a hospital for various injuries.
“We’re not remiss in our duty as we’re preparing since Monday the necessary documents for the filing of appropriate charges against the identified suspect,” said Lt Col Ivan Viñas, spokesperson of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Command (Cocpo).
In a radio interview, Viñas said that Major Julius Saluta, the Police Precinct 2 station commander, was only waiting then for the victim’s death certificate as the one lacking concrete pieces of evidence in filing the cases.
“We at Cocpo just want to make it sure that all the requisites are meted up so as not to bungle the cases to be filed,” Viñas said, adding that they also respect the victim’s family who hired a private lawyer in monitoring the case development.
City vice mayor Jocelyn ‘Bebot’ Rodriguez had earlier ranted, calling the police “lousy” for failure to arrest and charge the suspect and his companions immediately.
“Yes, they were lousy at that time but overall our city police have been actively performing their respective duties. I’m sorry for the words and for calling such,” Rodriguez said, a week after the incident and no arrest and tracking down of the identities of Neri’s companions.
Mayor Uy said that hiding from the law will not do any good for Neri and his companions.
“He was already identified and soon be captured by the police. It would be better for Neri to surrender for his own peace of mind and so as not to aggravate his case,” Uy said.
The mayor has also ordered the police to speed up the wheels of justice for the
fast resolution of the case that exposed the softer side of a local ordinance against loitering and the prohibition of drinking alcoholic beverages in public places.
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