Ermita Barangay Captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta lies in repose at the Ermita Barangay Sports Complex.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
Tomas: Rupinta’s death can mean ‘new start for the village’; Team Rama councilors: Mayor should stop defaming slain village chief
Accusations of being a drug protector continue to haunt Ermita Barangay Captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta even in death.
And his biggest accuser is the chief executive of Cebu City.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña told reporters on Monday that he was happy for the at least 8,000 residents of Ermita after the barangay lost its “biggest drug protector.”
He said he sees the death of Rupinta as a good opportunity for the city and other law enforcement agencies to clean and rid the barangay of illegal drugs.
“I am happy for Ermita because during the reign of Imok Rupinta, there were many pushers who blossomed to become among the biggest drug lords in Central Visayas,” he said.
He identified them as Crisostomo “Tata Negro” Llaguno, Franz Sabalones and Rowen “Yawa” Secretaria.
Llaguno was shot dead while campaigning for north district councilor in Barangay Lorega San Miguel, Cebu City, in May 2010.
Secretaria was also gunned down in a police operation in his base on Banacon Island in Bohol in May 2016.
Sabalones, on the other hand, surrendered to the police after he was tagged as No. 2 drug personality in Central Visayas, next to Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, who was slain by Cebu-based policemen in Las Piñas City in June 17, 2016.
Osmeña has been accusing Rupinta of protecting the drug lords in Ermita that resulted in the proliferation of the illegal substance in the village — a claim that Rupinta had repeatedly denied.
But the village chief could no longer defend himself in the new wave of accusations from the mayor.
He was killed in an ambush while heading home to a subdivision in Liloan town, northern Cebu, on Thursday night.
Rupinta was driving home with his common-law wife, Jocelyn Mendoza, when he was ambushed in Sitio Simborio, Barangay Tayud, Liloan, about 21 km north of Cebu City. Mendoza was unharmed.
His allies in the local opposition party, Barug Team Rama, came to Rupinta’s rescue.
They criticized the mayor for his statements that appeared to be insensitive in the wake of the pain being suffered by the village chief’s family members, relatives, friends and constituents who grieve over his death.
At least 50 people were on the roadside in Ermita on Monday to wait for the arrival of Rupinta’s remains. Some supporters wore black armbands with prints “Justice for Kap Imok.”
When the funeral car passed by at about 1 p.m., they chanted his name.
The wake was transferred from St. Peter Memorial Chapel on New Imus Street to the Ermita barangay gym before he would be laid to rest on December 9.
“Let us not accuse the dead because they cannot defend themselves. And no, I think the biggest drug protector in Cebu is still alive and kicking and speaking,” said Councilor Joel Garganera.
“Tommy is just so callous and cold to say such accusation against Kap Imok at this time. He is just a person who is full of anger and hatred,” said Councilor Jose Daluz III, another ally of the village chief.
Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera said that if there was anyone to blame for the presence of illegal drugs in Barangay Ermita and in other parts of Cebu City, it should be the mayor himself.
“Tomas Osmeña has been mayor for 16 years, but he failed to eradicate illegal drugs in the city. He is a failure. And he is looking for scapegoats,” Pesquera said.
“He should stop defaming the late Captain Imok Rupinta. The people of Ermita loved him. He was in the forefront in the fight against drugs. In fact, one of the angles of his murder was that there were some supporters of Tomas Osmeña who were affected by the continued operation of Captain Imok against drugs and video karera,” she added.
In October, Rupinta led village officials in putting up tarpaulins on houses in his barangay to identify that these were “drug-free” homes.
He, however, stopped the campaign due to the appeal of the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas which viewed it as another twist to the “shame campaign” that was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
But Rupinta and all seven councilors of the barangay were suspended by the Ombudsman for six months for failing to cooperate with an anti-drug raid in their barangay last November 2016.
When reached for comment, Osmeña said the Barug Team Rama councilors were just politicizing the incident.
He added that it appeared that the P300,000 reward dangled by Barug Team Rama would not be given until he would be named mastermind.
The opposition councilors offered the cash reward for anyone who could provide information that would lead to the arrest of the suspects.
The police arrested on Friday night Jimmy Largo, who had been identified by Mendoza as the one of the four men who shot Rupinta.
But Barug Team Rama had yet to announce who would receive the reward as the police had yet to reveal the identity of the mastermind.
Largo, clad in a bulletproof vest, was presented to the prosecutors’ offices on Monday for the filing of six complaints.
He was first brought to the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office for the filing of the murder and attempted murder complaints for killing Rupinta and shooting at Mendoza, who was inside the vehicle with the village chief.
He was then brought to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for the filing of illegal possession of firearms, illegal possession of explosives and violations of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
The police claimed that they recovered guns, explosives and shabu from Largo when they arrested him at the Carbon Public Market, Cebu City.
Since Largo waived his right to submit his counter-affidavit, the complaints were elevated to the courts.
But Largo reiterated on Monday that he had nothing to do with the killing of the village chief.
“Wa man jud ko (I didn’t do anything),” were the only words uttered by Largo.
Mendoza’s lawyer, Salvador Solima, said they had a strong case against Largo since he was possibly identified by his client as one of the four men who shot them.
The police were also confident they got the right man.
“There is no fall guy. That is his defense. Even though he claims that he was not the one who did it, we cannot do anything about it because he was positively identified by the witness,” said Senior Supt. Jonathan Cabal, Regional Intelligence Division in Central Visayas chief.
Largo earlier claimed that he was approached by a former village official to kill Rupinta, but he refused.
He then told the police that a certain “Nognog” may have accepted the job.
Cabal said they had checked the names that Largo claimed had knowledge in the killing of the village chief and considered them persons of interest.
A source who requested anonymity told Cebu Daily News that the names given by Largo were all related to illegal drugs.
The names were in the list of drug personalities that was submitted by Rupinta to the police.
“The police should dig deeper on this,” the source said. /With Reporter Jose Santino S. Bunachita, Morexette Erram and Nestle Semilla