Following his son’s gruesome death last year, used-car dealer Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista admitted that he sometimes thinks of leaving the painful memories behind in a country that he fears is no longer safe for anyone.
But whatever his decision will be, he said he would remain committed to his mission of making sure that Venson’s murder is never forgotten.
“Sometimes I think of migrating. I have relatives in Canada. But I must wait for the case to be over and after the conviction, maybe I’ll do that,” he told the Inquirer last Friday, on the first anniversary of Venson’s death.
He added that he remains firm in his belief that carjacking is a heinous crime and that the country’s laws should be amended to make it a
nonbailable offense.
Evangelista and his family fondly remembered Venson for whom a Mass was said on Friday, the first anniversary of his death which is being blamed on a suspected car-theft gang allegedly led by brothers Raymond and Roger Dominguez.
During the Mass celebrated by running priest Fr. Robert Reyes at the
Evangelistas’ house in Cubao, Quezon City, the victim’s father said that although a year has passed, the case against the Dominguezes remains in the pretrial conference stage.
“All of us victims feel the same. When justice is delayed, the more painful it is for us,” Evangelista said as he clutched a handful of “Justice for Venson, Justice for All” car stickers.
This was also the message written on tarpaulins displayed all over the family’s house. On a makeshift altar, four maroon handkerchiefs were lying beside a silver urn containing Venson’s ashes.
The urn was recently brought back to the country by Venson’s wife, who went to Australia after his death.
According to Evangelista, his son was a devotee of the Black Nazarene.
“He was a regular at the Feast of the Black Nazarene. People even called him, ‘Long Hair,’” he said. Venson took part in the procession last year, four days before his death.
The victim went missing on Jan. 13, 2011, during a test drive. He was last seen in the company of two men who had expressed interest in buying a Toyota Land Cruiser he and his father were selling.
His charred body was recovered days later in Cabanatuan City while the Cruiser was found parked at a hotel in Mandaluyong City with a different license plate.
Alfred Mendiola, one of the two buyers who had gone with the victim on
the test drive, came forward a week after the murder and pointed to the Dominguezes as the brains behind Venson’s abduction and murder.
Mendiola later turned state witness against the brothers and several
others who were charged with car theft with homicide before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
The Dominguezes are also being linked to the death of another car dealer, Emerson Lozano, son of lawyer Oliver Lozano.
Following the tragedy of losing his son in a cruel manner, Evangelista went from being a simple businessman to serving as the voice of carjacking victims.
According to him, he chose to speak up and be active in the fight against crime instead of keeping quiet and becoming a “permanent victim.”
“Our lives changed because [of] what happened. It is really painful because the way my son died was not normal,” he added.
Evangelista still sells expensive cars but noted that business was quite slow in the past year. Some clients and partners even shy away from him, perhaps because of what happened to his son.
“It’s like you have leprosy. I am the victim but they don’t want to deal with me,” he said.
Aside from demanding that car theft be made a heinous crime, Evangelista appealed to the judiciary to institute reforms that would fast-track the resolution of cases.
At the same time, he asked Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista to purchase gadgets such as radio communication devices and install more closed circuit television cameras to help monitor and fight crime.
“I would also suggest a one-strike policy against police commanders should a car theft occur in their area, like what they do for illegal drugs,” Evangelista said.