While he feels sorry for the death of the 14-year-old boy hit by a bullet purportedly from the gun of no less than the chief tanod of barangay Ermita, Mayor Tomas Osmeña believes the incident is an isolated case.
Osmeña said he could also empathize with the move of Ermita barangay captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta in reportedly “initially protecting” chief tanod Vicente Beltran Bosque before the latter surrendered to the police the other day. He was later identified by Ananias Anter, father of Junard Anter, the boy who was hit by a stray bullet in the chest and killed.
“The captain is torn…If I’m the barangay captain, I’ll have reluctance also and would try to protect the tanod,” Osmeña said yesterday.
Osmeña said he understands that Bosque may not have had sufficient training in handling firearms and emphasized that it is about time barangays in the city take the initiative of letting their tanods and even members of the Barangay Intelligence Network undergo proficiency training in handling guns.
Osmeña also said that the city will provide assistance to the family of the boy.
He added that he has nothing against tanods and police volunteers having firearms. But he explained that the level of difficulty in passing the proficiency exam is what is preventing 20 percent of the policemen in the city from being given their incentive allowance.
The mayor emphasized that the armed tanods and members of the BIN have been helping the city police and that contrary to the perception of many, disallowing them to be armed would actually make the city’s peace and order situation worse.
This is because the city has only 900 policemen at present and the tanods and BIN members are reportedly the ones that have filled in the gap, as regards the preservation of peace and order. The best thing to do, Osmeña said, is not to disarm the tanods and volunteers but to make them more disciplined in carrying their firearms.
Ironically, there were a thousand policemen in Cebu City 43 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Homicide Section of the Cebu City Police Office filed homicide charges against Bosque.
Bosque was positively identified by Ananias as the one who approached him right after his son fell on the ground.
Bosque for his part denied holding a gun and claimed he was holding a handheld radio then.
Sr. Insp. Mario Monilar, chief of the Homicide section, told reporters that they are giving weight to the father’s testimonies for being there in spite of the absence of the firearm used in the alleged shooting. – Joeberth M. Ocao and Edwin Ian Melecio/MEEV