BY RHENJIE MARIE CALANTAS
ILOILO – Justice remains elusive for three young businessmen a year after they were shot to death in Barangay Villa Pani-an, Estancia town.
Past 12 a.m. on Sept. 14, 2022, John Paul Mark Bosque, 28, of Sara town; Chrysler Floyd Fernandes, 27, of Barotac Nuevo town; and Mark Clarenz Libao, 24, of Jaro, Iloilo City were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
The lone survivor was their friend and business partner Jevron Parohinog of Estancia who told the police he was driving Bosque’s white sports utility vehicle (SUV) when they were attacked by motorcycle-riding gunmen.
Key witness-turned-person of interest Parohinog underwent a paraffin test on Sept. 14, 2022. A luminol examination was also conducted by the police on the SUV and portions of his residence. Both yielded negative results.
Parohinog told the Estancia police they were in the town at the time to sell the fishing boat he and Bosque jointly owned for P7 million; part of the proceeds, he said, would be used to pay Bosque’s debt to someone he had no idea who.
On November 2022, three counts of murder were filed against 11 respondents, including Parohinog, by the Iloilo Police Provincial Office’s (IPPO) Task Force “Palibosfer”.
Parohinog and the other respondents denied the charges and maintained their innocence.
The following month, the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the charges, citing insufficient evidence or lack of direct evidence against respondents Parohinog, his brother Jix Parohinog, Michael Porras, Michael Quiachon, Benzen Llamado, and six “John Does”.
Task Force “Palibosfer” on Jan. 11, 2023 filed a motion for reconsideration, seeking a reversal of the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office resolution.
In a Feb. 17, 2023 resolution, the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office denied the motion for reconsideration.
According to Major Rolando Araño, IPPO spokesperson, family members of the victims filed a petition for review with the Department of Justice.
“Ang kaso ara subong naka-pending. Nag-appeal to ang family ka victims. Te indi pa kita da pwede kasulod until kung ano ang mangin resulta ka ila nga gin-submit nga appeal, waiting kita sa gihapon,” Araño told Panay News./PN
