“HE’S a coward and a liar.”
This was how Jocelyn Mendoza described former Cebu City Market Administrator Winefredo Miro, in a press conference, Wednesday.
Mendoza, common-law-wife of slain Ermita Barangay Captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta, slammed Miro’s allegations that she orchestrated the ambush and killing of the village chief and not the latter, who was tagged by police as the mastermind.
“Sa iyang pasangil nga ako ang mastermind, dili ko buang nga mosakay sa sakyanan nga kahibaw ko ambushon. Unsa’y too niya (Miro) sa bala mamili kun kinsay ig-on? (On his claim that I am the mastermind, I’m not crazy to ride the vehicle if I knew that it would be ambushed. Did he think that a bullet will choose its target?),” Mendoza said.
Mendoza said that Miro’s allegations against her, only showed how desperate he was to clear his name.
“Mao man na ang mga ilhanan sa tawng sad-an. Pasagad lang og pamasangil (That is the mark of a guilty person. Blame just anyone), ” Mendoza added.
Last Monday, Miro told reporters that Mendoza was the person who had the best possible reason to kill Rupinta.
He asked police to investigate Mendoza in relation to Rupinta’s killing instead of pursuing murder complaints filed against him at the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
Miro said that the complaint filed by the Regional Special Operations Group in Central Visayas (RSOG-7) should be dismissed for lack of probable cause.
But Mendoza belied all of Miro’s allegations including his claims that he and Rupinta were friends.
“Kanus-a mo nagka-amigo ni Imok? Ayaw og pangangkon ug ayaw bakaki imong kaugalingon kay kabalo ko nga hasta ikaw dili mo dawat ni Imok isip amigo (Since when have you and Imok been friends. Don’t make false claims and don’t lie even to yourself because I know that even you can’t accept Imok as a friend),” Mendoza said.
Rupinta and Miro were considered as bitter politicial rivals with a long standing fued in Ermita after Rupinta defeated Miro’s father, William, in the barangay elections. Weeks prior to Rupinta’s killing, the younger Miro also clashed with the barangay captain on issues involving vendors at the Carbon Public Market.
Motorcycle-riding men ambushed Rupinta and Mendoza last Nov. 23 while they were on their way home in Barangay Yati, Liloan town. Mendoza survived the attack.
The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) arrested two suspects, Jimmy Largo and Jordan Gera, who are both residents of Ermita.