More than five months after it happened, a former radio block timer faces a court trial for allegedly sparking mass hysteria in downtown Cebu City following an earthquake hours earlier.
Charges of causing tumult and public disturbance were filed against Danilo “Danny” Cogtas before the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) last week. If convicted, Cogtas faces one month to six months imprisonment.
Cogtas doesn’t have to be arrested since the case filed against him is “summary in nature”, according to Asst. City Prosecutor Gandhi Truya who found probable cause to file the charges based on the testimonies of two habal-habal drivers.
In a phone interview, Cogtas denied the allegations against him and said he was in barangay Pasil to fetch a child of the secretary of radio station dyRB when the mass hysteria occurred last Feb. 6 this year.
Cogtas is required to submit his counter-affidavit before Judge Anatalio Necesario of the MTCC Branch 2.
The two habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) drivers pointed to Cogtas as the person who shouted that a tsunami was coming.
The two witnesses earlier recanted their testimonies against Cogtas.
No bearing
But their affidavit of desistance failed to stop the prosecutors’ office from elevating the case in court.
Prosecutor Liceria Lofranco-Rabillas, who reviewed Truya’s findings, said the recantation of the two witnesses has no bearing in the case.
“Their recantation is not basis for the prosecutor to either withdraw or pursue the case,” she said.
Rabillas said the case was filed in court based on the testimonies of the two witnesses.
”Whether they will testify or not is another story,” the official said.
Cogtas wasn’t subjected to a preliminary investigation before the prosecutors’ office since the case against him was “summary in nature.”
“Preliminary investigation is not a matter of right. The prosecutor has the option to file the case directly in court without requiring the respondent to file his counter-affidavit,” said Rabillas who sustained Truya’s ruling.
Complacent
Rabillas said it would be the judge who shall require Cogtas to submit his counter-affidavit before trial is held.
In his disposition, Truya said he found sufficient basis to elevate the charges against Cogtas in court.
His findings were approved by Rabillas and Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon.
The secretary and her two sons went to Pasil on board a motorcycle driven by Cogtas.
On reaching the area, Cogtas said the secretary got her daughter. He said he then decided to call his 21-year-old son in Talisay City through his cell phone.
“Akong giingnan ang akong anak nga ‘dagan, ayaw kompyansa kay naay tsunami. (I told my son to run and not to be complacent because a tsunami was reportedly coming),” Cogtas told Cebu Daily News.
He admitted mentioning about the tsunami but he didn’t have any intention to cause panic among the public.
“I mentioned the word tsunami but I didn’t shout. I just called my son through the cellphone,” said the 39-year-old Cogtas.
No choice
After communicating with his son Cogtas said he, the radio station secretary and her three children went to the mountain area of Guadalupe to take cover.
“I even cried since my son could no longer be contacted through the phone,” he said.
Cogtas said it was the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) who talked about the tsunami.
“Imbis Phivolcs ang ipatawag, ako naman hinoon. (Instead of summoning Phivolcs, I was the one being summoned),” he said.
Cogtas said he wasn’t the person seen using a megaphone to warn people about the tsunami.
“I was accused of a wrongdoing. It’s all right. That’s how life goes. I don’t have any choice but to face the charges against me,” he said.
Cogtas is seeking the legal assistance of lawyers Ruphil Bañoc and Christine Conales.
Accredited
Cogtas said he is presently handling a commentary program in DYRB and anchors a public service program “Tabang Sugbo.”
Cogtas is an accredited broadcaster, having passed the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) exams.
He said he’s presently with Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez, a fellow Catholic Faith Defender.
Fernandez, Cogtas, and other non-Catholics discuss matters of faith and the Church on a program entitled “Katin-awan sa Pagtuong Katoliko” broadcast over the Cebu Catholic Television Network.
In their affidavit, the witnesses Roldan Espina and Ryan Pedrosa said they went to barangay Pasil on board their motorcycles to verify reports that a tsunami hit the shoreline in downtown Cebu City.
When they arrived near the Pasil fishport, they saw people running away from the place, some dragging along their children.
They said they saw a man on board a motorcycle, shouting loudly that a tsunami was coming.
Misunderstood
Espina and Pedrosa said the man was wearing a big identification card around his neck and dark sleeveless vest “like the ones worn by media people.”
The two witnesses then returned to barangay Lahug where they worked and later learned that police are looking for the man who spread the tsunami alarm.
The witnesses identified Cogtas through his photo printed on a tabloid.
They said Cogtas was the same man whom they saw spread the false tsunami alarm.
Cogtas, a member of the group Tabang Sugbo Organisasyon based in Talisay City, was invited by the Cebu City police to explain about the incident.
He told police that his actions were just misunderstood.
He said some people may have overheard him say something about the tsunami and panicked. /Ador Vincent Mayol, Reporter