Working student, owner slain in Cebu City coffee shop

CEBU CITY — And the killings continue.

Two unidentified persons shot dead two persons and critically wounded two others inside a coffee shop in Barangay Cogon Ramos, Cebu City on Wednesday.

John Michael Hermoso, one of the owners of The Good Cup Coffee Company, and its employee Kit Tryvl Ramos died of bullet wounds on their heads.

Ramos was about to close the shop when the assailants entered and shot her, Hermoso, and her coworkers.

Coffee shop workers Sherwin Dean Rivera and Jerome Amada were wounded and were now recuperating.

Bong Abella, one of the five owners of the coffee shop, said Hermoso was supposed to be in Boston on Thursday to compete at the 2019 World Coffee Championships after being hailed as the champion in the Philippine Brewer’s Cup last month.

“John Michael is one of our managing partners, a passionate individual driven to serve the coffee industry, not just in Cebu but the whole Philippines,” he said in a statement.

Ramos, on the other hand, was a working student at the coffee shop, who was supposed to graduate this June 2019 at the University of the Philippines Cebu.

“It is sad that they could no longer pursue their aspirations. We call for justice and prayers for the victims,” Abella said.

Rivera and Amada, he said, were being taken cared of at a private hospital. Abella said they were cooperating with the police to identify the perpetrators and the motive behind the killing.

“The Good Cup management never expected this to happen. We assure everyone that we will work with the best of our abilities to ensure that justice will be served for them,” he said.

Major. Eduard Sanchez, chief of the Abellana Police Station, said they were considering all angles in the killings.

“But right now, we’re more inclined to believe that personal grudge toward the owner may have something to do with the attack,” he said in an interview.

The investigation showed that the gunman was wearing a helmet when he barged into the coffee shop and shot the victims. He went out of the establishment and boarded a motorcycle driven by another man.

The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) condemned the latest killings, saying the culture of impunity has “emboldened murderers to openly boast their weapons and shoot people.

“We will not stop calling for justice for Kis and her coworkers,” the CEGP statement said.

Ramos, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology student at the University of Philippines Cebu, was a former member of the Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante and a former writer of Tug-ani, the newsletter of the University of Philippines Cebu.

The Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante described Ramos as “dedicated, passionate, and ready to serve.”

“Today, it’s our turn to seek justice for her innocent life as well as peace and blessing to her soul,” the Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante said. With reports from Nestle Semilla, Inquirer Visayas /lzb