A birthday wish for the dead

A SAD BIRTHDAY. A teary-eyed Lea Adolfo (left), along with her relatives celebrates her daughter Aireen’s 25th birthday on July 12, 2017 by offering flowers and lighting candles on the grassy area in Sta. Lucia, Barangay Pulang Bato, Cebu City, where Aireen, a call center agent, was found dead two days earlier, last Monday, July 10.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA

CALL CENTER AGENT KILLING

Lea Adolfo laid a bunch of flowers placed inside a plastic water bottle on a grassy, hilly area. She then lit candles and with tears flowing from her eyes, she offered a short prayer.

“I’m so sorry if I was not able to help you,” said Lea in Cebuano as she struggled to fight back the tears.

It was supposed to be a day of celebration as Lea’s daughter Aireen would have turned 25 yesterday.

But instead of celebrating her birthday, Aireen’s remains lie in a wake inside their house in Barangay Pulangbato, Cebu City, after she was found dead last Monday morning, her face smashed with a rock in a grassy area inside a subdivision, about a kilometer away from her home.

“I hope we can give you the best birthday gift and that’s to give justice to your gruesome death,” said Lea.

Fondly called Yenyen by her neighbors, Aireen is the second in a brood of four.

Her mother was a housewife while her father worked in a construction.

“It is doubly painful that my daughter was brutally killed. She was not a criminal to be killed like that,” said Lea, who was accompanied by some relatives when she visited the crime scene on Wednesday.

Lea said they would usually dine out or cook something at home for Aireen’s birthday. This year, Aireen and her friends planned to have a small gathering in their house to celebrate her birthday.

Still reeling from the shock of her daughter’s brutal killing, Lea told Cebu Daily News that she last talked to Aireen at around 5 p.m., Sunday, when the latter asked permission to leave the house to buy some groceries.

“I was really worried when she did not go home overnight. It had never happened before. I would check every time I heard the sound of a habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) hoping that it would be her who arrived,” said Lea.

The next day, Aireen’s sister approached their mother, crying.

“My daughter was already crying because she heard that a woman was found dead and she was worried that it was Aireen. When we saw photos of a woman slumped on a grassy area, I recognized it was her because of her shorts,” narrated Lea.

A good daughter

Aireen had so many plans and dreams that will no longer become a reality with her death.Aireen worked as a call center agent in Cebu City but was scheduled to leave for Japan to work in a laundry shop.

Aireen worked as a call center agent in Cebu City but was scheduled to leave for Japan to work in a laundry shop.

“She was really a good daughter. Never a single time did I raise my voice at her. She wanted to work abroad to give us a better life,” Lea said.
Among neighbors, Aireen was known as kind and helpful.

“She never got into trouble. She was such a good person,” said April Rose Uwatan, Aireen’s cousin.

Lea said she felt bad that no one was able to help her daughter even though some people heard the voice of a woman pleading not to be killed.

“Please don’t kill me. You know my father,” said Lea, quoting her daughter according to those who heard the commotion.

“They thought it was just a couple arguing since the area is known as a dating place,” said Lea.

Lea believes robbery was the motive of the killing since Aireen’s wallet and a newly bought cell phone were not recovered at the crime scene.

“I’m begging to those who have information that may help identify the culprits to come forward. I hope they will help us attain justice for my daughter,” Lea said.

Suspects

Two habal-habal drivers, Ramonito Tribunalo, 38, and Sherwin Velasquez, 43, were picked up by police as “persons of interest”.

Velasquez was considered a person of interest in the killing after Aireen’s bag was found in a river near the man’s house. He remains in police custody as he was caught with a sachet of suspected shabu when authorities picked him up for questioning.

Police described Velasquez as a high-value drug target of the Talamban Police Station who was jailed on charges of illegal drug possession last year.

Meanwhile, Tribunalo, who has been a suspect in a string of robberies in Barangay Talamban, was picked up for questioning as police believe the victim was robbed prior to her killing.

Tribunalo was detained after police found at least seven bullets of a .38 caliber revolver inside his house.
Both Velasquez and Tribunalo deny any involvement in the crime.

Velasquez claimed that he was in a cockpit in Mandaue City watching a cockfight when the killing took place; while Tribunalo said that he was home the whole day last Sunday.

A “bihag” or a dead gamefowl was found several meters from where Aireen’s body was found.

A call to witnesses

“We are currently gathering witnesses. Lumalapit tayo sa mga nakakilala sa kanila .. at para maituro kung sila nga yun. Kasi yung isa nating nakitang witness takot, especially nung nag-conduct ng operations, “said Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) director, Senior Supt. Joel Doria.

(We have approached people who could identify the suspects if indeed it was them who committed the crime. We had found one witness but the witness was afraid especially when we conducted police operations.)

Police investigators, Doria said, are also looking into viewing CCTV footage from establishments near the crime scene at Sta. Lucia Village in Barangay Pulangbato.

“We are doing our best to solve this. Hopefully, makatulong yung CCTV kung ano yung exact oras silang dumaan doon, saan sila nakita, lahat yan. Kaya

Kaya nga yon ang importante eh na yung mga business establishments may mga CCTV. Ang laking tulong niyan when it comes to solving crimes. Yan yung basis natin,” Doria added.

(Hopefully, the CCTV will help us determine the exact time the suspects passed by the area and where they were seen. All that. That’s why it’s very important for business establishments to have CCTV because those really help a lot when it comes to solving crimes. That will be our basis.)

He advised the public to be cautious when riding motorcycles-for-hire.

“If you are taking habal-habal, be sure to take down the vehicle’s plate number or take a photo of it if you have a cell phone and inform your relatives or friends that you are about to take a ride,” Doria said in Tagalog.

Police have yet to release the results of an autopsy conducted on Aireen.