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TALISAY CITY, Philippines – Less than a week after being accused of abducting and mauling two teenagers over a missing spare tire, the adopted son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez is again in the limelight.
Joavan Fernandez was accused of harassing two pumpboys and the cashier in a gasoline station last Friday in Barangay (village) Lawaan I for failing to sell him car fresheners.
The gasoline station was the same station which he threatened to blow up on July 26, while brandishing a gun.
According to a police report, a certain Rowena called up the Talisay City Police Station at 6:20 p.m. on Friday asking assistance because Joavan was allegedly creating trouble.
Superintendent Romeo Perigo, Talisay City Police chief, said Sunday policemen responded to the trouble alarm but when they got there, Joavan was no longer around. They were told the incident happened at 1 p.m., he said.
The victims would not explain to the police why they did not seek assistance earlier.
According to the initial police investigation, Joavan had his car gassed up at the Petron Gas Station. He bought on credit few liters of gasoline.
Trouble started when he asked pumpboys Eduardo dela Torre and Ian Luago to include four pieces of car fresheners.
The pumpboys referred the request to their supervisor Rowena Emarino.
Emarino, however, refused to give Joavan the car fresheners because she said the credit line does not include air fresheners.
This angered Joavan, who then allegedly pulled out a gun and threatened the pumpboys.
“Lain ra ba kog masuko bisan duha lang (You won't like me when I'm angry. Just give me the two fresheners),” he said.
The threat spooked Emarino, who gave Joavan two car fresheners to avoid trouble.
Emarino, however, refused to comment on Joavan’s threat.
She told police that she would just report the incident to the gasoline owner.
In an earlier report, dela Torre was also threatened by Joavan last month when he refused to gas up Joavan’s car.
The gas station owner ordered them not to service Joavan because of allegedly unpaid debts. Joavan allegedly brandished a gun during that incident and threatened to blow up the station.
In the latest incident, Perigo said it will be up to the management of the gas station whether or not to file a complaint against Joavan.
In the mauling incident, Perigo admitted Saturday that he ordered a policeman to approach the father of one of the victims allegedly mauled by Joavan and five others but only to have a sworn affidavit to support the robbery charge filed by the victim's aunt against Joavan.
The aunt, Mercedita Abellana, earlier claimed that a policeman approached his brother-in-law, Oscar, and made him sign an affidavit stating that Joavan was not at his house during the time the five other suspects were arrested.
Perigo said it was a misunderstanding. He sent a policeman to get the statement of one of the victims Osbert Abellana, who was a witness when Joavan allegedly took Mercedita's television set, DVD player and her CDs.
Joavan was earlier accused of extorting money from a businessman from Naga City. He is also out on bail on murder charges for the 2006 killing of jeepney driver Panfilo Barinque in Barangay Cansojong, Talisay.
A separate case of frustrated murder was filed against the mayor’s son for shooting and wounding Timoteo Aleo, but it was provisionally dismissed after the victim retracted his statement. /Correspondents Chris A. Ligan and Justin A.K. Vestil
