Cops remain clueless on suspects

The police are still clueless on the suspects behind the ambush of two jail guards and an inmate in Oprra Unit 5, Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City last Thursday.

Police Senior Supt. Royina Garma, chief of Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), previously revealed that they already have a person of interest, based on the accounts of a witness.

“Meron, but wala na sa lugar. Finallow-up namin pero wala na sa lugar,” Garma said, in a phone interview yesterday.

Aside from tracking the said person of interest, they are also checking the credibility of the witness.

“We are making sure na itong witness ay witness talaga o baka fall guy lang tong tinuturo niya,” Garma said.

Meanwhile, one of the personnel of the Cebu Provincial Rehabilitation and Detention Center expressed dismay on the allegations thrown against the two ambushed jail guards, Prison Guard 1 Joel Teves and Prison Guard 1 Bernie Bayotas.

The said jail personnel, who requested anonymity, said that in his 24 years in service, he saw how dedicated the two jail guards were.

“Nakuridos gyud to sila duha. Mga maayong tao kaayo na sila oy. Mga inosente kaayo. wa ko magdahom, hilak gud ko,” the source said.

He added that he was tasked to accompany seven prisoners to Danao City on that day.

“Kung ako pa toy nagescort ni Perigrino, basin na-anhing na sad ko karon,” he added.

The two jail guards were asked to bring Jerryfer Perigrino, an inmate serving jail time for a drug related offense, to his court hearings when the incident happened.

The remains of Teves was brought to their hometown in Dumanjug, Cebu, while the body of Bayotas and Perigrino lie in state at St. Francis Memorial Homes along Natalio B. Bacalso Avenue, Cebu City.

Meanwhile, Bayotas’ wife has lamented over his alleged involvement in contraband smuggling inside Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center knowing how poor they are.

Grace Bayotas, 51, showed to The FREEMAN the old wooden apartment the family has been renting for the past 21 years of which portion is also being leased to others which the owner just allowed and trusted them to defray some of their expenses including the rental.

She said there are times they cannot pay on time prompting them to borrow money from other siblings.

Grace has few grocery items displayed for sale inside their small sala to augment her husband’s income.

They don’t even have a television set which her husband is supposed to buy when he receives his retirement pay. He was supposed to retire on September 31 after 26 years in serving as jail guard.

Chief Insp. Eduard Sanchez, Guadalupe police station chief, earlier said he believed the assailants targeted inmate Jerryfer Perigrino because of the latter’s drug links but they only included the two jail guards in their investigation because of Jail Warden Reynaldo Valmoria’s allegations that they were involved in the contraband smuggling at the CPDRC.

“Sa iya serbisyo sa nasud, imbis labanan sa warden, gi-involved naman hinoon sa illegal. Ngano diay warden naa kay kalibutan sa ambush?” asked the tearyeyed Grace.

Bayotas belonged to the family of soldiers and policemen in Negros Occidental. He served as ranger of the Philippine Army for five years but his mother asked him to go home after his brother, also a soldier, was killed in a rebel encounter in Tayabas, Quezon Province.

He applied as jail guard at the CPDRC during the time of the late governor Vicente “Tingting” dela Serna whom he also served as escort.

“Wa ko magtoo nga anhi siya madisgrasya sa way hinungdan,” Grace said.

Bayotas’ latest salary from the provincial government was around P16,000 per month and he did not have any child to Grace.

“Nagkapangka-pangka man gani nga wa mi anak, samot kung naa pa mi anak,” Grace said.

Among the concerns now of Grace is the expense to transport Bayotas’ cadaver to his hometown in Calatrava, Negros Occidental.

Bayotas also left around P10,000 loan balance from Cebu CFI Community Cooperative and had only paid eight months of the three-year-installment of his motorcycle.

Bayotas met a motorcycle accident few years ago and a certain Dr. Robinson Uy helped for the stainless of the bone fracture repair on his leg.

Grace said she initially preferred not to speak out but she was hurt by the news report.

“Nganong karon pa man? Di na katubag akong bana kay patay na. Imbis pangitaon nila ang nagpatay, kami naman hinoon ang hatagan og sala,” she said.

Grace also raised some questions how Bayotas was assigned as escort of Perigrino who was a highprofile inmate for two successive days.

She also asked why the close-circuit television (CCTV) camera in the place of incident was shut down. —