Joavan on the loose
Last Monday evening, many Talisay residents heaved a sigh of relief over reports that the Talisay police finally captured the mayor’s son, Joavan Fernandez.
Many thought the arrest would put an end to his long list of shennanigans, or at least slow it down.
Then late Wednesday evening, Joavan pulled a Houdini. He walked out of the cell in the Talisay city police office, met his visiting wife , then boarded a government vehicle.
How long will the son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez play with the law?
During the campaign period, when Joavan snapped at a woman and flashed his gun to silence her objection to his posting his father’s election propaganda on her house wall last month, police were challenged anew to take action.
The the familiar pattern set it. Terrified of reprisal, the woman refused to file formal charges. So have a series of other victims of Joavan’s abusive ways.
Then last April 12, Joavan errupted again.
A car shop watchman was shot in both arms in a midnight appearance by Joavan otuside his shop. The victim said it was Joavan who got off a motorcycle and, after asking for the whereabouts of the owner, shot the worker.
This triggerd the order from the top brass of the regional police to capture Joavan before the May 13 election if nothing else but for violation of the election gun ban.
Last Monday, the police chief of Talisay City was all too happy to report to his bosses: Mission accomplished.
As soon as police jail guards blinked, Joavan was gone.
Talisay’s officialdom and the police are again challenged to show that the rule of law prevails.
Joavan was last seen riding off in a government vehicle, a Mitsubishi Adventure often used by his mayor father and himself.
With the election four days away, the escape is a slap in the face of all authorities.
Negligence of police guards who had custody of Joavan was apparent. They had let him out of the cell ostensibly to meet his visiting wife and young children, a privilege not easily enjoyed by other tenants of the jail.
PO2 Leandro Azarcon, the guard on duty, has been sacked. An investigation is in order.
It’s a wonder that Joavan was kept in a police facility located in the Talisay City Hall building where his father has influence. Why didn’t they detain him somewhere else?
Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo called Joavan “Public Enemy No. 1” after the latest escape.
The mayor’s son, officially considered “armed and dangerous” is now a moving target of a police manhunt that must be quickly concluded to avoid further embarrassing the PNP.
More than that, Talisay’s walking example of impunity must be brought to heel. There are criminal cases waiting for trial which Joavan must face.
If Joavan’s father has long tolerated his son’s flouting the law, the public will not.
