Talisay: Clash of 2 toughies
By Justin Anjuli K. Vestil
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 07:24:00 09/06/2008
The man who injured Joavan Fernandez with a bolo Tuesday night is now in hiding.
Randy Basar can no longer be found at home in sitio Magay, barangay Tangke, Talisay City.
If his brother is to be believed, Randy didn’t attack the son of Mayor Socrates Fernandez.
What happened was a confrontation on the street between two toughies ending with an “accidental” injury.
“Kung si Joavan tigas-tigas sa tibuok Talisay, ang akong igsuon ang tigas-tigas dinhi sa amoa (If Joavan is considered a toughie in all of Talisay, my brother is a toughie in the neighborhood),” said elder brother Erwin.
Erwin said his brother got irritated when Joavan started lording over the area (“nanghaud”).
Randy, who was already drunk, went to his house, got a bolo and confronted the mayor’s adopted son.
Randy allegedly pointed the bolo at Joavan to scare him off. But somebody pushed Joavan forward and the blade struck him in the chest.
Police have been looking for him to answer allegations that he hacked the mayor’s son.
Joavan told police that he went to Magay that night to buy fish. He was treated in the Talisay district hospital for a gash in the chest.
“The suspect is no longer in the area,” said Insp. Jovito Canlapan, acting Talisay police chief.
“We wanted to ask him why he attacked Joavan.”
Canlapan assured that police didn’t want to arrest Basar, but only to verify reports that the incident was related to illegal drugs.
He said Randy was arrested between 2002 and 2003 for alleged involvement in illegal drugs and then released on bail.
Family and friends of Randy in sitio Magay described the 37-year-old marine engineering graduate as a good man although quick tempered when drunk.
Elder brother Erwin confirmed that Randy left their home shortly after the attack out of fear that Joavan might return to get even.
Erwin, 44, said his brother had no intention of hurting Joavan and that what happened was an accident.
He said Randy was drinking with friends when Joavan and his two male friends arrived in Magay about 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
After the confrontation, Joavan suffered a cut in the chest while Randy ran off. The incident was reported in the police blotter as “paregla”, a case of random violence.
By 4 a.m. on Thursday, the mayor’s son returned to the sitio looking for Randy. He allegedly carried an M16 rifle.
A male resident, who asked not to be named out of fear for his life, told that Joavan arrived on board a light blue pick-up. The mayor’s son allegedly threatened to shoot everyone if no one could tell him the whereabouts of Randy.
The residents fled in fear.
Unable to get information, Joavan went back to his vehicle and left.
Erwin said that if Joavan would return to their sitio, the villagers would not hesitate to attack him.
“Kulatahon gyud na si Joavan dinhi kung mubalik siya (We will beat him up if he comes back),” said Erwin.
Mayor Fernandez, in defense of his son, said he has witnesses to prove that Joavan was not armed when he returned to Magay.
He identified Rene Tangag, who owns a convenience store in Magay, and Randy Dirayal, an ice shaver who lives in the sitio.
He said both men told him Joavan merely only asked about the whereabouts of Randy but was not carrying a gun.
“Why would my son carry an Armalite when most people armed with such weapons are only military or police?” asked the mayor.
Dirayal, however, refused to issue a statement when contacted by . Tangag was not around when went to his sari-sari store.
Maria Macaraya, a resident of sitio Maya, also defended Joavan, saying he was not a bad person.
She said she knew Joavan way back when Fernandez was still Talisay City councilor. “Labaw ra na sa igsuon ang akong pag-trato ni Joavan (I treated him more than my brother),” she said.
Macaraya said Joavan was not armed when he went to Magay early Thursday morning.
“Wala man nanghasi si Joavan. Pag-abot niya, ang iyang dala kay cellphone ra ug nangutana ra gani to siya sa usa sa among silingan kung asa na si Basar (He did not go on a rampage. When he arrived here, he only brought a cellphone and asked our neighbors if they knew where Basar was),” said Macaraya.
Macaraya said Joavan would go to Magay, not to buy illegal drugs but to visit her since she used to work as a cook of the mayor.
“Kung muabot gani na siya, magpaluto man na siya nako ug pansat ug lambay (If he visits, he would ask me to cook shrimps and crabs for him),” she said.
Mayor Fernandez has asked the police for a 24-hour security detail for Joavan following the attack because Joavan had received threatening text messages in his mobile phone days earlier.
No approval has been granted yet.
Many others have applied for a bodygard but the police lack personnel, said Supt. Crisaleo Tolentino, chief of the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG).
He advised Fernandez to hire private security guards to escort Joavan instead.
“I think they can afford to hire security guards,” he said, referring to the family.
The mayor’s letter-request to Insp. Canlapan of the Talisay police was endorsed to Senior Supt. Carmelo Valmoria, Cebu provincial police director.
The mayor was advised instead to write to the PSPG office, the police unit tasked to provide escorts to people whose lives are under threat.
These are usually VIPs, government officials, foreign dignitaries and those under the government’s witness protection program.
Of the PSPG’s 36 personnel, about 80 percent are already assigned to government officials. Five have been placed on stand by in case a foreign dignitary would arrive.
Tolentino said he would endorse the mayor's request to Camp Crame, headquarters of the Philippine National Police.
To qualify for a police escort, a thorough background check has to be made with the intelligence community to check if the applicant’s life is under threat. With report from Correspondent Chito O. Aragon
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