Rama orders full probe of village captain’s death

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama isn’t convinced that barangay Mabini captain Rey Oybenes killed himself and his mistress Rohama Luage, a City Hall employee.

He ordered the police to further investigate the May 23 deaths.

Rama said  he doubted the reports of a murder and suicide, and suspects that  another person may have killed the two.

“I need to be convinced. I want the history, background and if there are other people involved. I want conclusions, not speculations,” Rama told  officials in a command conference of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).

The mayor’s disbelief stemmed from the fact that he  was  with Oybenes and other Team Rama allies a day before the violence.  He said he didn’t notice any sign that  Oybenes was troubled.

After the two victims  were discovered in separate sites with gunshot wounds in their chest, co-workers talked about how Luage had tried to end their five-year affair, and received threatening text messages and phone calls from the barangay captain.

She was last seen being picked up at her housing unit by Obeynes in his government-issued Toyota Hilux.

Supt. Mariano Natu-el, acting Cebu City police chief, said police are verifying where Luage was shot after learning that the barangay captain rented an apartment for her in barangay Tigbao.

He said  neighbors reported that Oybenes’s wife visited the apartment last Friday or a day after the barangay captain’s apparent suicide.

But Natu-el said  neighbors didn’t hear any gunshots from the apartment.

“We went to the area but we couldn’t enter the apartment without asking permission first,” said Natuel who said they will try get clearance.

Oybenes, 39, was seen by witnesses dumping  Luage over a  cliff in Balamban town before he was found shot dead in his  Toyota Hilux   parked by the road in barangay Talamban, Cebu City a few hours later. The vehicle was locked from the inside.

The mayor questioned why Oybenes was not immediately rushed to the hospital.

Natu-el said police weren’t aware of Obeynes condition until hours later  when the undertaker notified them.  Police  didn’t smash the vehicle’s window to avoid tampering with evidence.

The mayor visited the vigil wake of Oybenes at the Mabini Sports Center last Sunday.

Mimi,  Rey’s elder sister, said the mayor understood why she had ordered her her younger brother Ramy to break the glass window of the vehicle with a rock.

“The police will take care of the investigation, they are the experts there. If it’s suicide so be it. But if somebody else was involved, they must be brought to justice,” she said.

The mayor’s cousin, Basak San Nicolas barangay captain George Rama wanted the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to join the investigation.

The mayor said he wanted the investigation done immediately.

Obeynes will be buried on June 10 at the Golden Haven Memorial Park in   Cebu City. Luague’s family may bring her reamins home to Pagadian City.

At the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) office where Luage worked, a candle continues to flicker in Luague’s desk surrounded by photos and letters from friends.

Included in the pile of flowers and letters is a note left to Luage by Oybenes bearing the message “I love you goodbye.”

Luage’s co-workers decided not to clean her desk until nine days after her death. Doris C. Bongcac, Chief of Reporters with Correspondents Chito Aragon and Jose Santino Bunachita