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Regret came later, after his capture.
He said they didn?t know they had just robbed and killed a priest.
Ruselo Rabanes, a 28-year-old unemployed construction worker, yesterday owned up to killing Fr. Jovencio Rabusa in Monday night?s holdup staged with two cohorts in a dimly lit road in Talisay City .
Rabanes, a resident of sitio Ibacan, barangay Cansojong, said he didn?t know that their victim was a clergy member.
?Gamahay ko pagkahibalo nga pari diay to. Kung nagpahibalo pa nga pari siya, di unta nako siya pusilon (I was filled with regret when I learned that he was a priest. If he had identified himself as a priest, I wouldn?t have shot him),? he said.
Rabanes? 15-year-old companion surrendered to a police asset shortly before Rabanes was arrested while eating bihon (rice noodles) in a friend's house in barangay Tangke, Talisay.(Cebu Daily News is withholding the name of the minor.)
The arrest came after police collared 18-year-old Gerald Tradio. He was not part of the robbery but admitted selling the priest?s stolen cellular phone for P1,200.
Still at large is a third robber identified only as Tingloy, a man in his 20s.
Officials of the Cebu Archdiocese lauded the police solving the case in less than two days.
?We are happy that the case was solved immediately. We hope that this is the start of the resolution of other problems,? said Msgr. Achilles Dakay, media liaison officer of the Cebu archdiocese.
He said Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, who is in Manila attending a conference, would be pleased.
Supt. Henry Biñas, chief of Talisay City police, said charges of robbery with homicide will be filed against Tingloy and Rabanes .The vendor of the stolen cellphone, Tradio, will be named an accessory.
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old offender will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act. Under the law, children 15 years and below are exempt from criminal liability.
Tradio, the ?fence? , was arrested first. Police said they found a .38 revolver and two small packs of crystals believed to be shabu in his possession.
Tradio told police he wasn?t involved in the shooting and that he only sold the cellular phone handed over by Rabanes and Tingloy.
A separate operation was then conducted for the two.
Rabanes was eating in a friend?s house when policemen conducted a raid at 9:45 a.m. He tried to slip out the back gate but policemen were already there waiting for him.
Rabanes denied being the brains behind the robbery and pointed to Tingloy, who remains at large.
FOR FUN
The holdup was planned after a drinking session ?for fun?, according to the 15-year-old offender, Duke, (not his real name).
The boy said he was playing billiards when Tingloy, a neighbor, and Rabanes invited him for a drinking spree that ended at 7 p.m. when they ran out of money to buy liquor.
He said Tingloy thought of robbing someone for amusement and said ?Wa man ta lingaw karon , nulisa ta (We have nothing fun to do, let's rob someone).?
Rabanes , in an interview later, said that if he hadn?t been so drunk he would have said no.
He said he borrowed a gun from the friend of Tingloy who brought with him a knife.
When they arrived at the South Coastal Road at the corner of barangay Consojong, they saw a man in loose shorts and a shirt sitting on the road curb with a young man.
The boy said Tingloy pointed to the priest, saying: ?Kana, murag datu ng tawhana (That one because he looks rich).?
The priest was holding a cellphone when Rabanes and Tingloy passed behind him and crossed to the road island with the boy following.
The men demanded for the cellphone but the priest elbowed Rabanes and tried to run.
?Hubog gud kaayo ko ato. Iya ko gisiko, dayon dagan siya padung ta sa shell station. Mao gipusil dayon nako siya sa makatulo (I was so drunk. He elbowed me and then ran toward the Shell gas station. I shot him three times),? said Rabanes.
?Giingnan nako siya nga, ?bai, cellphone ra amo tuyo. Unya niaksyon man siyag sukol. Iya ko gisiko (I told him that pal, I only need your cellphone. Then he motioned to fight back. He elbowed me),? Rabanes added.
The priest's young companion ran away.
Duke said he was stunned when he saw Rabanes shoot the victim. He fled and went home.
He said Tingloy took the bag and cell phone from the victim's hand. (The victim?s wallet went unnoticed in his pants pocket.)
When they saw the bag?s contents had shorts, towels and books, Tingloy threw the bag 100 meters away. He didn?t know that a second cellphone was inside.
Tradi said he was watching television in Cansojong, when Tingloy and Rabanes arrived and told him that they had robbed someone and wanted to sell the cellular phone. They sold the phone for P1,200.
It was the following morning when Rabanes learned that their victim was a priest.
?Nagmahay gyud ko. Mao wa ko nisibat (I regret what I did. That is why I did not run away),? said Rabanes.
He claimed this was the first time he killed someone although the robbery was his third heist.
Asked why pulled the crime, he replied: ?tungod sa kawad-on (because of poverty).?
Rabanes said he couldn?t find a job as a construction worker after his contract ended.
?Grade 2 raman gud ko kutob (I only finished Grade 2),? he said.
His sister Susan said Rabanes didn?t like going to school and preferred spending time with his friends. She came to the defense of her brother whom she described as a good and quiet person who was just influenced by his friends.
?Magmahay jud ko, apan nahitabo naman. Mangayo ko og sorry sa pamilya ni father. Kon di pako moatubang aning kasuha, dugay nako mibiya dinhing lugara (I regret what I did but it?s already done. I would like to ask forgiviness from the family of the priest. If I didn't want to face the charges, I would have long left this place),? said Rabanes.
The priest?s remains lie in state at the St. Francis of Assisi Church in Naga City where he served as member of the Team Ministry.
His body will be brought to his hometown in Badian, Cebu on July 10 and will be buried on July 15. /with Corresponent Jhunnex Napallacan
