Teen out of danger; cop father urged to file raps

THE 16-year-old student who was hospitalized after being hit on the head with a rock allegedly by Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo was declared out of danger.
Jan Niño Pogoy was being processed for discharge yesterday from the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, more than two weeks after he was knocked unconscious during a brawl inside the defunct Kuerks bar.
His father, SPO4 Samuel Pogoy, yesterday appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) which is investigating the incident.
“We will file charges against the persons responsible for committing the crime. We have our own set of witnesses and it would be better if your family will cooperate with us,” NBI Agent Rennan Augustus Oliva told the victim’s father.
Even if Councilor Carillo asked for the NBI investigation, Oliva said the city councilor isn’t off the hook yet as to his possible involvement in the crime.
“Wherever we reach in the course of this investigation, the NBI will stand by its findings. Our probe is impartial. We’re after justice here. We will go after the person who committed the crime regardless of who he or she is,” Oliva said.
He requested SPO4 Pogoy to bring the victim to the NBI-7 office so that the boy can relay what actually transpired.
“We are both fathers. I pity your son. Let us give him justice. Let the truth come out. We even go after anyone who runs into a dog. We don’t care who we shall implead here,” Oliva said.
Three witnesses, who were accompanied by a lawyer from Carillo’s law office, went to the NBI-7 last week to shed light on the allegations against Carillo.
While they said they didn’t see who actually hit Pogoy on the head, they insisted that Carillo is innocent of the charges.
Oliva said they will compare the testimonies of the three witnesses to their own set of witnesses.
“We will subject everybody (witnesses and other concerned individuals) to a lie detector test,” he said.
SPO4 Pogoy yesterday said his son was already released from the Intensive Care Unit and that they are ready to check out from the hospital. He said they just have to settle their hospital bills.
SPO4 Pogoy admitted that Councilor Carillo vowed to shoulder the medical expenses incurred by the family which included P90,000 in professional fees.
He didn’t mention the amount they have to pay for his son’s hospital bills.
Carillo earlier gave an undisclosed amount of financial aid to Pogoy’s family. SP04 Pogoy said his wife accepted the financial aid from Carillo.
When asked if they will file a complaint against the person responsible for hitting his son, SPO4 Pogoy said “It’s up to my wife.”
“Our priority now is for my son to fully recover (from a cracked skull),” he said.
SPO4 Pogoy was tight-lipped about what his son told them after the boy managed to speak in the hospital.
The victim’s mother Milagros works as a volunteer in the barangay’s Gender and Development (GAD) program while SPO4 Pogoy is a policeman in Lapu-Lapu City.