Talisay City policeman inspect the vehicle owned by suspect Joshua Garciano which was seen on a CCTV footage, tailing PAF Staff Sgt. Mark Hervert Oberes’ car on the night he was killed.
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO
OBERES SLAY
Philippine Air Force Staff Sgt. Mark Herbert Oberes allegedly received death threat messages from suspects Joshua Garciano and Edna Cabañog early January this year.
Oberes’ wife, Diana, during a press conference, said Edna Cabañog owed him P50,000 which her husband had been demanding payment for.The press conference was held at their house where the wake of Oberes is being held
She said her husband’s Facebook Messenger account showed messages from Garciano stating ”gamay ra kaayo’ng kalibutan bai” (the world is very small), “tan-awa makatilaw nya ka” (just wait you will suffer), “bayot man ka bai, tubag bai” (you’re a gay, answer).
She said Oberes replied, “ayaw sige’g pahaba diha, naningil ra ko” (don’t make up stories, I am just asking for payment) apparently referring to his messages to Resamie Cabañog, Garciano’s girlfriend.
Oberes was shot in Corazon Village in Barangay San Isidro, Talisay City, the subdivision where Edna and Resamie Cabañog resided.
In explaining the presence of Oberes there, Diana said, “Maybe he was threatened, probably involving his family if he won’t show up that night when he went to Talisay, thus, he was forced to go, or maybe something was offered prompting him to meet with the suspects.”
She said she kept calling her husband’s phone starting at 9 p.m. until around 1 a.m. but he could no longer be reached, prompting her to inform her mother-in-law (Mark’s mother Beth) about her husband’s absence. At around 4:30 a.m., they received a call from the Talisay police informing them of his death.
Diana said she learned in December last year that Resamie’s mother Edna owed her husband P50,000 and kept on demanding payment from mother and daughter to repay him, which Resamie had earlier denied.
Manhunt
Meanwhile, the police have extended their manhunt for the suspects to Negros Oriental.
Talisay City police Chief, Supt. Mario Conag said they received reports that Edna Cabañog, Tomas Isugan and the two unidentified suspects linked to the crime, have escaped to the adjacent island of Negros.
“We are coordinating with our counterparts in Negros Oriental to track down the suspects,” Conag said in a phone interview yesterday.
Garciano, meanwhile, said he was willing to turn state witness against Edna.
“I can reveal what I know about the case,” Garciano said in Cebuano when interviewed at the Talisay City Police stockade yesterday.
His lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo said they will request the handling prosecutor to conduct a preliminary investigation to give them a chance to submit a counter affidavit.
“I’m currently studying the case. We’re also asking for suggestions from the Philippine National Police,” the lawyer told Cebu Daily News.
Paramour
Meanwhile, Diana said believes that Resamie and her husband did have a relationship, besides that of being business partners of a networking company. She said she confronted her husband about it.
She said she first learned of the illicit relationship when her husband mistakenly sent a message to her mobile phone saying, “naabot naka love?” to which she replied “wrong send”.
She refuted Resamie’s statement that she learned of Oberes being married only on the second month of their relationship. Diana said Resamie was invited to her husband’s birthday celebration in Bantayan island in April but she declined.
It was in June 2017 when Resamie became an official member of the networking business and became Oberes’ business partner.
Diana further said that her husband and Resamie might have ended their relationship on the first week of December when he first started demanding payment for Edna’s debt.