JOSELYNDO Jabagat was relaxing at home with his wife and two daughters yesterday when Cebu Daily News visited his rented house in barangay Carreta, an urban poor neighborhood.
His daughters, Jiah Mae, 8, and Jomelyn, 4, embraced and kissed their father with delight.
Jiah Mae, a grade 2 pupil, said she was absent from school because she was excited to be with her father.
Wife Marilyn recalled how she almost broke down after learning her spouse was tagged as the main suspect of the sports center burglary.
Marilyn who works as a canteen cashier in a private firm said their elder daughter cried when she found out that her father was in jail.
Their neighbors and relatives couldn’t believe that Joselyndo, who had no prior criminal record or reputation as a troublemaker, was being blamed for the P1.6-million theft, said Marilyn.
Joselyndo, who was assigned as a guard in the CCSC since 1996, recalled his experience in the detention cell of the Cebu City Police Office, his first time behind bars.
“Paet kaayo. Wa ko kasabot. Lain-lain lang akong kauban. Di ko katug ug tarong (It was terrible. I couldn’t understand. I was with different kinds of people. I had a hard time sleeping),” he told Cebu Daily News.
He said he prayed continuously that he would be freed.
He slept on a carton sheet with a malong as a blanket on the concrete floor of the cell shared with 12 other detainees.
He recalled that he was on duty and still in uniform when the police arrested and handcuffed him on Jan. 17 at the sports center, a day after the burglary was discovered.
The family had nothing much to fall back on. Joselyndo, an employee of GDS Security Agency, said he earned P160 a day for a 12-hour shift.
His wife’s sister-in-law referred them to lawyer Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu, who took on the case for free.
While he talks with some bitterness about filing a complaint against Sinulog Foundation officials and police for the ordeal, Joselyndo said he would consult his pro bono lawyer, since he has no money for a legal battle. He said Sinulog officials should be investigated because they were the ones who knew that a large amount of cash would be kept in the vault over the weekend; nobody told him about it.
One thing is sure.
His days as a security guard are over. Joselyndo said he won’t go back to his job and plans for now to sell goods in the family’s sari-sari store at home.
“Nitagam na ko.” (I’ve had enough)CORRESPONDENT RHEA RUTH V. ROSELL