Kids of slain Kuratong man to get police protection

THE two children  who witnessed the murder of their parents by suspected Kuratong Baleleng gang members will be given police security, social welfare officials said yesterday.

Jaybee Binghay, spokesperson of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7), said the children are housed in a  facility designed to protect minors involved in high profile cases.

“We will also request for police of security once they are e turned over to us,” Binghay told Cebu Daily News over the phone.

The children aged 6 and 4 years old are still  with  the DSWD’s Lapu-Lapu City office.

The children underwent psychological evaluation and a medical exam and will be moved to the regional DSWD office for  stress debriefing sessions.

A 17-year-old brother of the slain Emma Beronguis, who is recuperating in a hospital for a gunshot wound  in the neck, will also be turned over to the DSWD’s custody,  Binghay said.

“He needs to fully recover first before he is turned over to us,” she said.

Binghay said the DSWD will coordinate with health authorities to cover his medical needs.

Binghay said  they will also look for relatives who can take care of the children.

The estranged wife of the murder victim, Alona, went to the police last week to claim the body of Fernando Canillo to take him back to Ozamiz City.

She also asked for the remains of his slain live-in partner and their 3-year-old son, but police refused, saying they had to wait for the legal claimants of the mother and child.

Alona also asked to have custody of their two surviving children, but police said the minors were under the custody of the government for now.

Fernando Canillo, his live-in partner  Emma Beronguis and their 3-year-old son were shot to death in their house in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu last Thursday morning.

Canillo was identified as a former Kuratong Baleleng member responsible for hiding the gang’s loot.

The two kids ran out of the house while the 17-year-old who was in the kitchen at the time survived gunshot wounds in the neck.

Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said the Provincial Commission on the Welfare of Children (PCWC) is willing to help  the children.

“If they need our help, we are willing to come in,” she said.

The Lapu-Lapu City police is searching for  other Kuratong members who may be hiding in Cebu.

Senior Supt. Anthony Obenza, Lapu-Lapu City police chief, said they have yet to determine the identities of the two cohorts of alleged gunman  Ricky Cadavero, whom the children identified as their “Uncle Kambal.”With Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol and Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus