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As things stand, there are at least three ways to deal with errant Joavan Fernandez, adopted son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez in his latest gun-toting incident.
Joavan was clearly in the wrong in last week?s road accident in Talisay.
His Isuzu Bighorn sideswiped a motorbike after swerving left at an intersection without making a signal.
Instead of rushing to help the riders, he had the gall to confront them with a gun.
?Wala ka naila nako? Wala ka kaila nako? Akoa ni ang Talisay! (Don?t you know who I am? I own Talisay.)? he shouted at Jonathan Ignacio and his wife Irene.
So typical of Joavan, the armed brat of Talisay City, who has gone into hiding again, counting on the mantle of protection of his father.
What weed has he been using this time?
Charges of attempted homicide, reckless imprudence resulting to damage to property and reckless imprudence resulting to physical injuries were filed against Joavan before the Talisay City Prosecutor's Office.
How did Joavan, fresh out of jail, secure a gun with an election gun ban so widely announced?
One immediate response would be to subject Joavan to a drug use test.
From there, results could point him to another cycle with a rehabilitaion center to cleanse his system of whatever he has been taking for a high that brings out the worse in him.
Joavan with his erratic episodes of menacing behaviour and history of drug use has been involved in so many arrests that to debate about his drug habit would be fruitless.
As far as his psychological state is concerned, he seems impervious to his father?s kind words of advice about moral values, right and wrong, and doing good to one?s fellow man.
Option two: Detain him at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or some other national law enforcement stockade which can?t be reached by the influence of a local government official.
To expect the Talisay City police to prosecute Joavan is like trying to convince the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden to the US government. It simply can?t be done, not with Joavan's father still in power.
The third and least likely scenario would be for the mayor to practice tough love, stand back and let his adult son suffer the full force of the law.
All three solutions largely depend on the mayor himself, whose compassion for a wayward son has only emboldened Joavan to act like a petty tyrant in Talisay.
Who will tell Joavan it?s time to stop?
If his father can?t or won?t, the May 10 elections may be a good time for Talisay voters to express what they expect of a leader and a father of the city.
