IBP-Bohol Chapter veep survives slay try

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — The vice president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Bohol Chapter, was wounded but survived an attempt to kill him by a lone gunman last Tuesday (May 24) inside the building where his law firm office was located.

Lawyer Dodelon Sabijon, 39, who is also the dean of the College of Criminology of the University of Bohol, was just about five meters away from his office at the second floor of the building, along CPG Avenue in this city, a few minutes past 8 a.m. when fire upon by an unidentified man from the lower part of the stairway.

Sabijon was already on the 13th of the 16 steps of the stairway to the second floor when the gunman fired the first shot, hitting him on the back of his pelvis with the bullet piercing through the lower left portion of his abdomen.

The injured Sabijon, with the gunman in pursuit, hurriedly turned straight towards his office, passing through two carpenters, Jun Arabiano and Armand Cabaral, who were fixing the door.

The carpenters heard the first gunfire before seeing Sabijon rushing in, and when the lawyer was already inside the office, they saw the gunman coming and fired the second shot at the lawyer through the glass door.

Cabaral said Sabijon told him, his law firm partner Josie Cempron, and the office staff to close and lock the door quickly because a man has just shot him. Cabaral did as told but failed to lock it, and then the lawyer grabbed him as they crawled towards the lavatory near the comfort room.

Cabaral said Sabijon hid behind him, saying they must call the police. The carpenter struggled to rid himself from Sabijon’s grip in the arms and sought cover behind the lavatory, while Sabijon and Cempron went inside the comfort room to hide.

The two lawyers, while inside the CR, tried to contact the police through their cellphones but failed, and then opted to call someone to contact TARSIER 117 to report the incident.

Personnel of TARSIER 117 rushed Sabijon to the Ramiro Community Hospital before responding policemen, led by Insp. Adriano Bacus and SPO1 Anecito Rulona, arrived at the scene.

The policemen found a slug from a .45-caliber pistol with blood stains on the 13th step of the stairway, and another slug of the same caliber upstairs near the doorway.

Rulona, in his investigation report, stated that the station, at around 8:25 a.m., got a telephone call from somebody informing about the incident, prompting the police to proceed immediately to the scene to verify.

Sabijon is now safe from harm, except for the inconvenience of the inability to move his left leg momentarily after the operation.

The victim, who is from the Danao town in Bohol, has been renting a unit at Soledad Apartment in the city. Investigators are now looking into all the cases he handled to determine any link to the slay attempt.

Cabaral described the gunman as about 40 years old, small-built with dark complexion, about 5 feet and 3 to 4 inches tall, with straight black hair, plain face and large nose, was wearing a black jacket, denim pants and shoes, and carrying a small sling bag.

The security guard of the nearby building and other witnesses said they saw another man waiting on a motorcycle along the road. They said he could be the lookout, who was uneasy while the shooting occurred inside. This man and the gunman hurriedly fled from the place before the police arrived.

IBP-Bohol Chapter president Cristifil Baluma, immediate past president Mitchell John and other officers later approved a resolution calling Bohol Police provincial director Constantino Barot Jr. to exert all efforts to resolve the case and expedite the arrest of the gunman. - THE FREEMAN