Boy Jaguar’s tragic end in Tanza Baybay

 

“You live by the gun and knife, and die by the gun and knife.”

—Joe Valachi

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IN the late 80’s, alyas Boy Jaguar was a known toughie in Iloilo City. His name had been implicated in a series of highway robbery incidents and illegal drug trafficking, among other crimes.

I first heard about him and his notoriety when I became a newsman.

Sometime at past five o’clock in the afternoon in July 1988, I spotted him standing outside our News Express (a newspaper) office in Immaculate Concepcion Building, Iznart Street, City Proper.

It was not by accident: Boy Jaguar was there waiting for me.

I actually knew why he was there: he wanted “to get even” after he learned I was the person who “rescued” Tonton Chu (not his real first name) from his dominion.

The term “rescue” was serendipity. Tonton, offspring of a prominent Filipino-Chinese family, is my classmate in elementary suffering from serious “manic” episodes.

Earlier that month (July 1988), Tonton sought my help saying he wanted to be “freed” from Boy Jaguar’s clutches.

Tonton had been staying in a rented room with Boy Jaguar in Brgy. Dulonan, Arevalo, Iloilo City for more than a year. 

Tonton’s father, who belonged to a rich and famous Tsinoy clan in Iloilo City, died when he was a boy. 

His mother, a former saleslady in Iloilo City, married an American citizen and has been living in Massachusetts, USA. 

 

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Mother regularly sent financial support for son through Boy Jaguar.

According to Tonton, he and his mother one day discovered that Boy Jaguar had been bilking them of large amounts of cash.

“Sometimes, they (mother and Boy Jaguar) argued over the phone and it ended in Boy Jaguar blackmailing my mother,” Tonton narrated.

When the situation developed from bad to worse, mother and son agreed it was time for son to move apart from Boy Jaguar. But the exit must be done discreetly so as not to vex the “hot-tempered” Boy Jaguar.

To make the long story short, I became unceremoniously involved in the plot’s crucial stage by agreeing to help a distressed former classmate.

Like a scene in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick novel, I helped Tonton scoop his belongings surreptitiously from their Arevalo domicile.

Tonton fled straight to his mother’s hometown in Danao, Cebu.

It didn’t take long for Boy Jaguar to discover Tonton’s skiddoo; he didn’t find it hard to establish my identity and trace my office. Forlorn and dejected, a person with a criminal mind must be seething with vengeance.

 

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Because I spotted him first outside our office, Boy Jaguar failed in his first attempt to harass me or execute whatever diabolical plan he had in mind. I used the backdoor for exit going to the Mary Mart Mall.

What ensued next was a veritable “catch-me-if-you-can” diegesis until it was cut short by a tragic news one morning on August 11, 1988: Boy Jaguar, the drug dealer and villain, was found dead with 27 stab wounds all over his body.

His badly mangled cadaver sprawled near the basketball court in Brgy. Tanza-Baybay, City Proper, territory of would-be murdered drug lord Boyet Odicta alyas Dragon.

Police theorized he had ran afoul of the drug syndicate in the area.

In our last conversation via Messenger (only the second time after 35 years) on August 7, 2023, Tonton, who now lives in Malay, Aklan, said Boy Jaguar’s real name was “Romeo King.” 

“If we did not do it (helping him in his great escape), God knows what would have happened to my future,” intoned Tonton. His mother, now 79, still lives in Massachusetts. 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.)

 

 

 

Can a family commit murder altogether?

“There are four kinds of Homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy.”

—Ambrose Bierce

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IN a crime of passion where extreme jealousy is involved, is it possible for members of the entire family to plot and murder someone considered to be a threat to break up a family?

It’s hard to say yes, but even Alfred Hitchcock couldn’t produce a film about one family committing the crime of murder with each member having a direct knowledge and active participation—unless the victim happened to be an armed burglar who trespassed in a private home in the middle of the night and got lynched by horrified clan members who invoked self defense.

It’s unthinkable and unrealistic, but if investigators of one sensational murder case in Iloilo City were to be believed, it could be possible. 

We can only think that for anybody, a member of the family or not, to become accessory to the crime, he must be present during the planning stage; he harbored the actual killers; he acted as a lookout during the actual execution of the crime; and he helped finance, arrange or direct the execution of the crime. 

 

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In most police crime stories involving extramarital affairs or crimes of passion that ended up in bizarre killings, the wife or husband was always the mastermind. 

Dance instructors who take advantage and exploit the weaknesses of the wives of politicians, police and military officials; bar girls and college—or even out-of-school—nymphets who end up as inamoratas of prominent men; playboys and gigolos who cavort with the partners of OFWs and sea fearers; punks who impregnate the rich men’s pretty daughters, former lovers who ditch each other for new partners, to name only a few.

When they were violently waylaid in most cases, no other members of the masterminds’ family, particularly the daughters and sons, were involved; details of the hits were carefully kept under wraps between the hired executioners and the masterminds’ trusted henchmen. 

In crime investigations there’s a principle called “an act of one is an act of all.”

The participation of everyone will have to be proven beyond reasonable doubt during the court trial.

It’s inconceivable, or rather a rare case in the police crime history when members of one biological family altogether would act or plot the murder of a common enemy, or someone who has enraged the entire clan. 

The recent sensational crime story in Iloilo City would be a test case and should be followed from start to finish.

 

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When I was in Los Angeles, CA 12 years ago, I met one of the police officers who investigated the Black Dahlia murder. He was in his 90s.

The reason behind the sensational Black Dahlia murder could be similar to the recent murder case in Iloilo City, except that the Black Dahlia murder was so brutal and gristly. 

It began when the sight of a corpse stopped a mother and her child in their tracks. A naked woman lying feet from the sidewalk was sliced cleanly in half at the waist, with not one drop of blood on her. 

The now-infamous slaying of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short instantly captured headlines in 1947, with newspapers later dubbing her the “Black Dahlia” in part because she had dark hair and an apparent preference for black clothing.

 

According to an article in TIME Magazine, Short, a Massachusetts native who had come to California in pursuit of fame, was bled dry before being dumped in an empty lot in a residential area of Los Angeles, authorities said. Her body appeared professionally dissected, and one breast was cut off, according to FBI records.

It’s unclear how the aspiring actor met such a grisly fate. Several dozens of people have claimed credit for the high-profile crime. The FBI, which helped local authorities investigate at the time, said it ran record checks on potential suspects and conducted interviews across the nation. However, none of the confessors appeared to be telling the truth, and the case has gone unsolved.

The murder became the subject of a 1987 novel, followed by a 2006 movie starring Josh Hartnett, Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart and Mia Kirshner.

The Los Angeles Police Department told TIME recently that it is still investigating the cold case, although it did not provide any details. “It’s an unsolved case,” LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman said. “There is no additional information per the detectives.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

Tongue twisters

 “'Twas but my tongue, 'twas not my soul that swore.”

--Euripides

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

BEFORE the advent of CCTV and high-tech cellphones, community and neighborhood crimes were hard to solve by the police, or mostly weren’t solved at all.

If there’s no evidence and witnesses, there’s no solution to the crime or crimes committed. 

If crimes were unsolved, there’s travesty of justice. 

The people’s trust and confidence in our law enforcement would be eroded if justice wasn’t served.

Today, even simple street brawls and altercations among drunken men, gangsters, drivers and pedestrians; hair-pulling and slapping tiffs among gossipers, housewives and vendors can be graphically captured and instantly uploaded on the social media for all the world to watch.

Those involved in the fracases became instant “celebrities” while perpetrators of crimes and violence were easily identified, rounded up in hot pursuit or follow up police operations, and prosecuted. 

It’s because of the mushrooming of CCTVs in the villages and the vigilance of netizens who recorded these crimes and violence that unraveled right before their eyes.

 

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That’s why we are confident the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be able to solve soon the grisly murder of 36-year-old Iloilo businesswoman Claire Diergos, who was laid to rest in in Guimaras on Sunday, Nov. 7. 

Investigators have been reportedly banking on the help of CCTV footages that captured the movements of the victim’s sport utility vehicle, where she was found dead, and the vehicle abandoned in Barangay Inangayan, Santa Barbara, Iloilo on October 26.

The CCTV footages, corroborated by several circumstantial and testimonial pieces of evidence, forensic science, and the quality of investigation being undertaken by the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) headed by Police Colonel Gilbert Gorero, are expected to help expedite the resolution of the celebrated case.

IPPO information officer and spokesman, Police Executive Master Sargeant Francisco Lindero, who had briefed reporters on the status of the case, assured the public they were leaving no stone unturned to solve the crime. 

Diergos, described by friends and her family as a hard-working and independent woman, sustained multiple stab wounds on different parts of her body.

If not for the fact that her body was found wrapped in a comforter and abandoned inside her own vehicle like in the mafia and detective movies, the case wouldn’t generate a huge public interest and become sensational.

 

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THE names of this year’s winners in the 50^th New York City Marathon on November 7 continued to be tongue twisters: Albert Korir (men) and Peres Jepochirchir (women).

Just like in chess, which used to be dominated by Russians like Botvinnik, Smyslov, Korchnoi, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Akhsharumova, Akopian, Azmaiparashvili, Chiburdanidze, marathon has produced some of the names that would require sportscasters chronicling the mammoth race “live” to take a speech therapy before or after the event.

Before Korir and Jepochirchir, there were (yes, I have spelled their names right) Muhrcke, Mtolo, Kuscsik, Waitz, Mutai, Okayo, Ikangga.

To further torture our tongues, there were past winners like: Wakiihuri, Kagwe, Tergat, Pizzolato, Keflezighi, Gebremariam, Biwott, Kipsang, Ghebreslassie, Kamworor. Whew!

In Asia, we used to have a chess grandmaster from Indonesia named Utot Adianto, a Korean boxer Tae Jin Moon, and two Thai boxing promoters I personally know, Virat Virachachatanawong and Jimmy Chaichutchuang. 

In the Philippines, Ilonggo topnotch chef Tebong Jardeleza once revealed he had a Facebook friend known as Abigail Putayan, a Korean national who’s not involved in sports and culinary arts, and who also became my social media friend.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two Iloilo dailies—Ed)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get killers of Muller and Britanico

“This thing that men call justice, this blind snake that strikes men down in the dark, mindless with fury, keep your hand back from it, pass by in silence.”

—Maxwell Anderson

By Alex P. Vidal

WE trust that forensic science will play a major role in helping identify the killers of Allen Muller and Delfin “Del” Britanico.

Both Muller, 42, and Britanico, 36, were shot multiple times in separate places by unidentified assailants on January 19 in Iloilo City.

Muller, a former drug surrenderee and call agent, was killed in Brgy. Cuartero, Jaro at around 12 noon, while Britanico, a businessman, was shot to death in Brgy. Nabitasan, La Paz minutes later.

Initial investigations reportedly showed the empty shells from .45 caliber pistol recovered in the two crime scenes were fired from the same gun.

Which will indicate that the twin killings could be related; or, the suspects could be one and the same.

We expect the more professional National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s Criminal Investigation Detective Group (CIDG) to have a breakthrough in their probes.

Forensic science has been a big miracle and constantly credited in the solution of many complicated and almost unsolved crimes in the United States these past 30 years.

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The recovery of empty shells is basically a major lead in a crime that involves the use of a firearm as the murder weapon; and it can help bring the investigators closer to the killers’ identity.

Leaving behind the empty shells in the crime scene is tantamount to leaving behind the suspects’ footprints.

If Muller’s murder was a case of extra-judicial killing (EJK), Britanico’s murder could be a case a “collateral damage”. 

Britanico, who was driving his motorbike, could have accidentally engaged Muller’s killers in a traffic spat while they were fleeing which resulted in a road rage.

A chase could have followed suit until they found a perfect spot to finish off Britanico, a well-educated and promising entrepreneur.

The itch to shoot more is reportedly stronger for people with criminal instinct after having committed a crime.

Clinical psychologists can best explain why the trigger-happy assailants decided to kill another human being after making sure they killed their first target, if proven that the killers of Muller and Britanico are one.

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POSTSCRIPT: We call on our media colleagues, especially the senior practitioners who know personally former Iloilo assemblyman and Banat Partylist Rep. Salvador “Buddy” Britanico, Del’s father, to help the Britanico family in their moments of sorrow and tribulation in whatever means and capacity.

Rep. Britanico is one of the only few Iloilo public servants who is very dear to many media practitioners with or without the elections.

Rep. Britanico would always distribute calendars to his friends and constituents with all members of his family in the photo.

They are awesome. The Britanico family is a role model and a source of inspiration and good values.

Rep. Britanico, formerly the national president of the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association, is former Constitutional Commission (Con-Con) delegate and once served as the deputy minister of the Ministry of Education during the Marcos regime.

Rep. Britanico introduced me to the entire Britanico family led by Dr. Lita Celestial in the dining table, including the late Del, his older brothers Buddy Jr. and Atty. Franco, when me and Panay News columnist Herbert Vego visited their house in Congressional Avenue in Quezon City more than 20 years ago.

All members of the Britanico family always prayed and ate together if they were all present in the house. Now, they mourn together. We hope the family will get justice for Del’s macabre death.

God bless Del’s soul.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Twin killings jolt Dinagyang month

“When I hear about people murdering, I wonder, What has to go through your brain to say, I don't want him breathing anymore? What makes you get that angry? How can you take someone's breath away? That just blows my mind.”

—Gilbert Arenas

By Alex P. Vidal

IT’S so sad that one of the victims in last Sunday’s senseless killings in Iloilo City was Delfin “Del” Celestial Britanico, youngest son of former Iloilo assemblyman and Banat Partylist Rep. Salvador “Buddy” Britanico and Dr. Lita Celestial-Britanico.

According to a popular digital resume Linkedin, Del was the “Co-Head at Britlao Corp/Manager at KM Haulers Britlao Corp Ateneo de Manila University.”

What a waste of life; Del was not an ordinary Ilonggo. 

He was a productive and worthy member of society.

Del, a legitimate businessman, was highly regarded in his field and came from a very educated and well-respected family in Western Visayas.

In one of his articles posted online, Del narrated how he decided to leave “a great job at a stable company to a smaller organization or a start up.”

Del, a bike enthusiast, wrote that “I stayed in the new company for 2 years. I only disengaged because I had to settle down with family outside Manila. In those two years I could proudly say that the company grew tremendously. Being the small kid on the block or in our industry, we picked our battles. We found our own niche. Growth was so well that our suppliers brought us to their headquarters in the US. Looking back yes I missed on some benefits especially when the old company I used to work for was acquired by a foreign giant. I saw Facebook and Instagram posts of my former colleagues being sent around the world for trainings, etc. But deep inside, I was contended. I made an impact and I am proud of it. My involvement in that smaller company opened some doors in terms of business ventures which are already materializing now.”

What a short life for a great young entrepreneur and possibly a future leader in the industry he had chosen to be part of.

Our sincerest condolences to the Britanico and Celestial families.

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MAYOR Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas has all the reason to be jittery after the twin killings in separate places in Iloilo City on Sunday, January 19, the day before the official countdown of the 2020 Dinagyang Festival week.

The crimes happened just after the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) has assured the public it was beefing up the metropolis’ security measure to ensure a peaceful celebration of the Feast of Señor Santo Niño.

Treñas was apparently disturbed by the coincidence of the macabre murders of call agent Allen Muller, 42, at 12 noon in Brgy. Cuartero, Jaro district and businessman Delfin Britanico, 36, minutes later in Brgy. Nabitasan, La Paz.  

“Why they happened during the Dinagyang month when the whole world is watching us?” the city mayor must’ve wondered. 

Why all of a sudden two successive murders when Iloilo City’s peace and order has not been so alarming these past months? 

For sure the killers didn’t commit the crimes to embarrass the ICPO and Iloilo City, which is expecting a lot of tourists for the annual ati tribe competition this week.

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“Of course we are worried. We have dignitaries coming. I don’t want incidents similar to Sunday’s to happen again,” Treñas bewailed.

The mayor was right.

All the efforts of his infant administration to attract visitors and potential investors through this once-a-year huge event would be jeopardized if peace and order was in dire straits.

Violence and brazen murders like what happened last Sunday could destroy the image of the “City of Love” which is now inching its way back to normalcy following the weird accusation from President Duterte that it was the “most shabulized” in the country.

In the month of January, Iloilo City competes with other Philippines cities, provinces and regions in terms of public attention owing to its colossal cultural and religious celebration now known in most countries all over the world.

Tourists and Santo Niño devotees regularly checked the Google and other Internet sites for the latest news about the popular festival and all they could read was about the killings.

We had chided  authorities or those in charge of implementing this administration’s wild and woolly anti-illegal drugs campaign not to sully the image of the Dinagyang Festival by the blood of victims of EJK or extra-judicial killings.

It appears our appeal turned out to be another voice in the wilderness.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)