Don’t judge me–Joavan

An overnight stay in the minidetention cell of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) proved a sobering experience for 27-year-old Joavan Fernandez, controversial adopted son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez.

Joavan was released at 8:45 a.m. yesterday after Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Judge Pamela Baring-Uy signed his release order.

Joavan later asked the public not to condemn him.

“Dili lang unta totokan sa publiko ang mga dautang balita mahitungod nako. Naa pud koy mga maayong binuhatan (I hope people won’t focus on reports against my person as I also made some good deeds),” he said.

Joavan spent last Thursday evening in jail along with other inmates inside the minidetention cell.

He slept on a makeshift bed of carton pieces while his girlfriend Doreen Isidro watched over him outside his detention cell.

The mayor’s adopted son was arrested by Cebu City police personnel at the ground floor of the Palace of Justice in Cebu City last Thursday afternoon on charges of direct assault and malicious mischief.

He was accused of deliberately ramming his car into a police vehicle driven by Chief Insp. George Ylanan of the Investigation and Detection Management Branch (IDMB) during a chase in Cebu City last Feb. 6.

Joavan was headed to the sala of Judge Uy who’s handling his case and posted a P12,000 bail for his temporary liberty.

However, the judge had yet to sign his release order when the Cebu City police arrested him.

Joavan was brought to the CCPO where he was placed under IDMB custody.

The Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office found probable cause to indict Joavan on the charges of malicious mischief and direct assault.

Joavan went to the court to sign the release order from Judge Uy yesterday morning. His arraignment is scheduled on June 24.

In an interview, Ylanan said there was “nothing personal” in their arrest of Joavan.

He said Joavan was handled according to police procedure and he wasn’t maltreated while inside the Cebu City police’s minidetention cell.

Ylanan said he talked with Mayor Fernandez at his office for nearly three hours and the mayor understood why they had to do it.

He said Joavan bypassed the standard operating procedure in posting bail, which included arrest and detention.

“There was no occasion in which Joavan and I previously met and fought each other whenever I’m on duty so there’s no reason for me to get personal on him,” Ylanan told reporters.