Defeated mayoral candidate injured in Boljoon shooting

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A man who lost his 2019 election bid for mayor in Boljoon town sustained a bullet wound on his knee after he was allegedly shot by a cousin.

Jose Emmanuel Serna Derama, 62, is now in a stable condition and is recuperating in a hospital in Cebu City.

Police Staff Sergeant Erwin Oyao said that Derama was shot by Adrian Anthony Derama Perello, whom responding policemen arrested during a hot pursuit operation at noontime on Saturday, February 6, and is now detained at the Boljoon Municipal Police Station.

Authorities arrested Perello, 54, while in a friend’s house in Barangay Poblacion.

Quoting the outcome of their initial investigation, Oyao said that a recent argument involving the two men may have caused Derama’s shooting.

He said that at about 9 a.m. on Saturday or an hour prior to the shooting incident, Derama and Perello engaged in an argument and challenged each other to a fistfight.

Both agreed to meet at the vicinity of the public cemetery in Barangay Granada.

Oyao said that two men had a history disagreements that have remained unresolved for years now.

Thinking that Perello would not heed the challenge, Oyao said that Derama left their residence past 10 a.m. on Saturday to do an errand in Santander town, located in Cebu province’s southern tip.

Oyao said that Derama passed by the public cemetery during his travel.

It was there that he saw Perello who appeared to be waiting for his arrival.  The suspect was sitting on his motorcycle.

Thinking that Perello would engage him in a fistfight, Derama parked his motorcycle 15 meters away from where the suspect was.  He disembarked from his motorcycle and opened its utility box to retrieve his knuckles.

But as he was opening his motorcycle’s utility box, Perello started to fire shots at his direction hitting Derama on his right knee.

Police recovered 12 pieces of empty cartridges coming from a 9 mm pistol at the crime scene.

Oyao said that Perello’s arresting officers were unable to recover the firearm which he disposed off as he fled.

Perello, who admitted to owning the unregistered pistol, was already subjected to paraffin test.  Police are just waiting for the outcome of the paraffin test on the suspect for use as evidence in the frustrated murder charge that they will soon be filing against him.

While claiming that he was unarmed, Derama will also be required to undergo paraffin test, Oyao added.

Boljoon town is located at least 100 kilometers south of Cebu City. / dcb