Boy, 17, sends father to jail for threatening him with a gun in San Fernando

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 17-year-old boy got his father arrested and jailed for allegedly pointing a gun at him (the teenager) when he talked back after he was scolded for hurting his brother.

The gun-pointing incident happened at 4:30 a.m. in San Fernando town in southern Cebu on Friday, August 18, 2023.

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Why dad pointed gun to boy

“Nagtubag-tubag man kuno ning anak. Gikasab-an ang bata, ang anak, unya nitubag. Unya mao tong gitutokan daw siyag armas ingon sa biktima,” said Police Senior Master Sergeant Marvin Ando, investigator of the San Fernando Police Station.

(He (the son) allegedly talked back. The son was scolded then he talked back. And so that was the reason his father pointed a gun at him. That is according to the victim.)

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Arrived from drinking session

The son, who is a working student, allegedly had just arrived from a drinking session with friends, after he was called by his parents to already come home, said Ando.

“Nasuko ning amahan kay murag gipasakitan ang igsuon,” he said. 

(The father got angry because it seemed that the teenager hurt his younger brother.)

Ando said that the minor was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the incident.

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Sought police help

Initial police report also showed that the teenager, who was shaken by the incident, hurriedly left the house and headed to the barangay hall to report it and ask for help.

But when he reached the barangay hall, there was no one inside. So he decided to go to the police station.

On his way there, he chanced upon a police mobile patrol vehicle that was passing by and reported that his father allegedly threatened him with a gun — a .357 revolver.

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.357 revolver

The police report showed that at the time of the incident, the father allegedly pointed his .357 caliber revolver to his son, who was then surprised and scared at what his father allegedly did.

The responding officers immediately went to the boy’s house and arrested the father for a possible grave threat’s case.

The police, however, did not find any gun from the possession of the father. The report said that it was the boy (victim) who turned over the gun to the police.

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‘Badlungon nga bata’

Ando also said that when the father was arrested, he repeatedly said during his police interview that his son had always been hardheaded.

“Ang iya ra man giingon balik-balik nga, badlungon gyod tong bataa,” said the police investigator. 

(All he could say again and again that the boy was a naughty one.)

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Ando also said that the father has no record of previous violent behavior in the barangay. 

“Misunderstanding ra gyud to. Nadala ra siguro sa ka-init,” Ando said.

(It was only a misunderstanding. He must have allowed anger to get the better of him [in that incident].)

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No cases filed, released

Ando said that a few hours after the incident, the victim came to the station with some relatives and the boy said that he would forgive his father

He said that the victim did not file a case and the father was released soon after.

Meanwhile, Ando said that they did not also file a case of possession of loose firearms against the father because the gun was not found with him, but it was turned over by someone else.

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‘Oplan Tokhang’

Instead, he said that they were considering the recovery of the firearm as a result of their campaign against loose firearms also known as “Oplan Tokhang.” 

He said that they were still checking if the confiscated firearm was registered or not.

San Fernando is a second class municipality of Cebu Province, which is 38.1 kilometers away from Cebu City.