Illegal meat caused TATC shootout
ROXAS CITY – Quarrel over the illegal trade of meat is the cause of the shootout that took place around 4:30 in the afternoon at the Teodoro Arcenas Trade Center (TATC) Thursday last week.
Reports reached this writer that there are watchmen who are in cahoots with unscrupulous meat sellers who are pilfering into TATC double dead meat and those that were not prepared at the city's slaughter house.
Witnesses said that after a heated argument, the four TATC watchmen, Ricky Besana, Ariston Eudela, Efren Diaz and Ariel Cerilo, all casual employees of the city government assigned to TATC, pulled out their guns and shot at each other.
In a radio interview, suspect Diaz, who surrendered to the Roxas City Police after the incident, said that he and Eudela, was taking their post at the TATC when Besana approached them and said "Subong idul-ong ta ka sa Banica (now, I will bring you to Banica)" and pulled out his .45 caliber pistol.(Brgy. Banica, this city is where the public cemetary is located.)
"I tried to grab Besana's gun. Cerilo, on the other hand, tried also to shoot me, I hid at the back of Besana, making his body a shield from the threats of attack from Cerilo," Diaz added.
After he heard a gunshot from Besana, Diaz said he pushed him hard and attempted to run away. Besana tried to shoot him while he was escaping to the direction outside TATC where the vegetable area was located.
Diaz claimed that Besana got mad at him because he tried to apprehend those who import illegal meat into the public market. "…he warned me (referring to Besana) that something bad might happen to me if I insist on apprehending them," Diaz added.
The incident caused two fatalities, the seven-year-old Jason Pelaez who was declared 'Dead on Arrival' by the attending physicians at the Capiz Doctor's Hospital and the ten-year old Nicole Soberano. Nicole died eight hours after, under the care of doctors at the Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital.
Editha Soberano (Nicole's mother and a vegetable vendor), was scratched on the face by a bullet of unknown caliber. Cerilo was hit on the leg and was brought to a nearby hospital where police are now on guard.
Diaz, Besana and Eudela surrendered a day after to the Roxas City Police and are now at the custody of the Provincial Command under the leadership of Senior Supt. Josephus Angan for tactical interrogation and paraffin test examination.