Curfew violator dies after beating
Family of 26-year-old demands justice for his death in the hands of village watchmen in Calamba City
LUCENA CITY—The family of a 26-year-old curfew violator who allegedly died from being repeatedly beaten by barangay tanod (village watchmen) in Calamba City, Laguna province, has appealed to President Duterte for justice.
“President Duterte, I am appealing for your help to give justice to my brother’s death. Just because of a curfew, they did that to my brother. They killed him,” Gledien Jimenez, the eldest sibling of the victim Ernanie, said crying in a phone interview on Sunday.
Ernanie was the second curfew violator who died in the hands of arresting authorities.
On Wednesday, the police chief of General Trias City and two other policemen were sacked from their posts following the death of a quarantine violator who was forced by policemen to perform strenuous exercise routines as punishment for violating curfew.
Police Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana, the spokesperson for the Philippine National Police, said police cannot impose punishments on quarantine violators.
Fell head first
According to Gledien, his brother went out of their house at Barangay Turbina in Calamba City past 10 p.m. on April 7 to buy food.
He was arrested by a group of village watchmen for violation of the 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew imposed in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Laguna is part of the containment bubble under ECQ that includes the National Capital Region and the provinces of Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases in these territories.
He said his brother peacefully went with the arresting team to the barangay office.
When Ernanie went out to urinate, the village watchmen ran after him and allegedly beat him badly, Gledien said, quoting accounts of witnesses.
Gledien said the place where his brother was beaten is only a few meters from their house where and he and his wife live, along with Ernanie and his common-law wife.
Gledien said his brother fell down head first because of the beating and the incident was witnessed by his wife and Ernanie’s partner.
Gledien was roused from his sleep by the commotion and cried for help when he saw his brother unconscious but no one came to assist them.
A vehicle from the barangay office eventually came and took the bloodied Ernanie to Dr. JP Rizal District Hospital in Calamba.
“But my brother was left alone in a vacant room, not in an emergency room despite my plea that his head should be immediately examined,” he narrated.
No deposit, no admission
The hospital has no computerized tomography (CT) scan equipment and a staff instead directed Ernanie’s family to bring him to Calamba Medical Center (CMC) for the test.
But Ernanie was not admitted at CMC because he did not have the P7,700 the hospital was allegedly asking as advance payment.
“Despite my plea that I will give the money the first hour in the morning, he was still denied treatment,” he said, leaving them no choice but to bring him home at dawn on April 8.
“He was hardly breathing. They did not even bother to check on his condition,” Gledien said.
They brought Ernanie back to CMC after a cousin sent him the money in the morning.
Ivory, Ernanie’s common-law wife, went to the Calamba police to file a complaint but was allegedly given the runaround. “The police just got her statement. But it was not recorded in the blotter,” Gledien said.
Ernanie died on April 9 at 11:45 a.m. due to a fractured skull.
When he went to the Calamba police station after Ernanie’s death, Gledien learned the mauling incident was not recorded and he was only told to return on Monday to file formal charges.
The family brought his remains to their hometown in Barangay Manlayo, Guinayangan, Quezon province, on April 10.
“He was looking for a job in Calamba to join me [there],” Gledien said. The victim, son of a retired fireman, was the third among five siblings.