Case against Bogo shooting suspect now in court

A charge of murder was filed yesterday against the police official who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy in Bogo City, northern Cebu. The case was filed at the Bogo City Regional Trial Court Branch 61 against Chief Insp. Ceferino Tabay Jr., deputy chief of the Bogo city police station.

Supt. Anthony Bagarinao, Bogo City police chief, said that they already secured the sworn statements of Vincent Paul Montesclaros’ parents including three witnesses.

Bagarinao said that they were glad that the boy’s relatives are now cooperating with the police after they earlier said that they didn’t trust the police.

autopsy

Montesclaro’s parents sought help from the National Bureau of Investigation after they turned down the request of police officials to allow the boy’s body to be subjected to an autopsy.

However, Bagarinao said that as of yesterday, the boy’s parents already agreed to let the boy’s body be autopsied.

He said a witness heard Tabay’s daughter pleading with her father not to shoot Montesclaros. Two other witnesses claimed that they already saw Montesclaros body with gunshot wounds in the head and chest.

Tabay admitted shooting the boy last Friday, but he claimed that he did it in self-defense. He claimed that he was forced to shoot the boy when the boy appeared to draw a gun from his waistband.

Tabay, who served the PNP for 27 years, was detained at the Bogo police station./Correspondent Joy Cherry S. Quito