Lawyer’s slain wife laid to rest in Carreta

Virginia Sesbreño, wife of lawyer Raul Sesbreño and one of three people killed in Wednesday’s car ambush in Talisay City, was buried in simple rites yesterday at the Carreta Cemetery in Cebu City.

Almost 100 relatives and friends of Virginia, 64, attended the funeral at 1 p.m.

“Justice must be served  for my slain mother,” said Peter, 30, the Sesbreño couple’s youngest son.

Peter, the regional manager of a Manila-based security company, said his mother   was defenseless when she was killed by two unidentified assailants on a motorbike.

Peter said her remains would be temporarily buried in Carreta until the family could transfer her next month to the Cebu Memorial Park.

Police are looking into the connection between  the amubsh and Wednesday’s  hostile demolition of  houses in barangay Lawaan, Talisay where Sesbreño is trying to evict settlers from  land on which he plans to build a commercial establishment.

The lawyer earlier gave police the names of five persons he said were the “masterminds” of the ambush.

Virginia and two close family friends, Joshua Young and Soledad Epanto, were killed when the pickup they were riding  was riddled with bullets  as the vehicle  stopped for a red light in Rabaya Street, Talisay City.

The remains of Young were brought to his hometown in Surigao yesterday.

Peter said he was satisfied with the progress of the police investigation, which came up with a cartographic sketch of the gunman,  but the family asked the National Bureau of Investigation’s assistance to speed it up.

He said both agencies were conducting a parallel investigation.

Peter reiterated his father’s claim that  five to six persons were  involved in the killings and that the violence was related to the going demolition in a contested lot in Talisay City.

Peter said the court-ordered  demolition of several houses would continue on Monday.

“No matter what happens, the demolition will push through.  I will lead it myself,”  he said in Cebuano.

He warned the settlers to “move out” to avert any bloodshed.

He said he requested the Cebu Provincial Police Office to provide policemen to assist them in the demolition on Monday.

He said he partly blamed Talisay City Police Chief Eddie Recamara for his mother’s death.

He said  Recamara didn’t send police escorts during the demolition which started late on Feb. 1.

He said  police escorts were only given  after the ambush.