AN ARMY corporal shot dead a staff sergeant inside a military camp yesterday morning after the latter threatened to kill him during an argument.
Staff Sgt. Romeo Mendez, 42, was having his morning coffee when Cpl. Jesusito Bayang, 32, shot him inside the mess hall of the 7th Finance Service Unit at Camp Lapu-Lapu, headquarters of Central Command (Centcom) in Barangay Apas, Cebu City.
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Lt. Col Melchor Tuliao, commander of the unit, heard the gunshots and went to check. He saw Bayang unloading his .45 pistol.
Bayang surrendered to military police, who later turned him over to the Cebu City Police Office Homicide Section.
Bully
Bayang accused Mendez of being a bully. He said the latter had a habit of rudely waking them up by pulling out their beddings, hitting their knees or turning off their electric fans.
He said Mendez, the supply sergeant, took joy in doing this even though it wasn’t part of his assignment.
Bayang was charged with murder when he was brought to the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor. He signed a waiver of detention and sought time to answer the complaint.
The shooting happened at around 5:20 a.m. yesterday, according to the Crimes Against Persons Unit of the Cebu City Police Office, where the corporal was turned over.
Bayang, according to the joint affidavit of Private First Class Mark Anthony Lumpas, Rex Embolde and Edgar de los Santos, was sleeping inside their quarters at the 7th Finance Service Unit, where they were bunked together.
Suddenly, they said, Mendez came in and woke all of them up, including Bayang who confronted the sergeant just outside the room. A verbal exchange followed.
Bayang, the witnesses said, came back to the room and got his service sidearm, a .45 pistol, and stepped out again.
In their affidavit, they said that they sensed danger and went out of the building to hear Mendez and Bayang arguing again, and then three successive bursts of gun fire and then two more a few seconds later.
Too early
Bayang, in an interview, said they have to wake up early to clean the surroundings, but he said it was too early to be up at 5:30.
This was not what drove him to shoot Mendez, though. Bayang said he confronted Mendez and told him to treat them properly.
Mendez allegedly threatened him by saying he was not afraid to kill, prompting Bayang to return to his room to get a firearm.
Bayang said returned to the mess hall.
He was already talking about killing and he started to rise from his chair, Bayang told reporters in Cebuano.
It was then that he shot Mendez.
When Tuliao arrived at the scene, he saw Mendez’s body slumped against a green monobloc chair, while Bayang unloaded his gun.
“Punong-puno na ako, sir (I’ve had enough)†were the first words Bayang uttered to his superior.
Bayang said he did not like the way Mendez treated fellow soldiers, as the latter allegedly bullied junior soldiers into waking up and cleaning their surroundings while he went back to sleep.
Technical Sgt. Dionilo Gabutero, a colleague of both officers, said he heard complaints from fellow soldiers about Mendez.
However, he said Bayang and Mendez had argued several times.
Bayang said he and another officer had asked for a transfer to be away from Mendez.
SPO4 Alex Dacua said they will file a murder case against Bayang, saying the elements of premeditation were present.
Dacua cited the number of times Mendez was shot, that the victim was unarmed, and that Bayang returned to his room in the middle of the argument to get a firearm and their history.
Bayang stood about two meters from Mendez, with only a long table to separate them. The five empty shells fired from the .45 pistol were found on the table.
Mendez was hit in the neck, arms and abdomen.
No match
Bayang said he knew he was no match for Mendez in a fistfight, as the latter was taller and bigger.
Bayang also has a limp, after getting shot in an encounter in Com-postela Valley in 2002.
Maj. Wilson Feria, Centcom spokesperson, said they will leave it to the PNP to handle the criminal aspectof the case.
However, Bayang will still have to face administrative charges.
Bayang, a native of Siargao, Surigao del Norte, joined the army nine years ago. He worked as a driver.
Feria said they will continue to remind unit commanders to instill moral discipline in their personnel.
While disagreements are common among units, Feria said commanders should see to it that arguments are threshed out.
He said that fellowships are held once in awhile to iron out grievances among staff members.
Both soldiers reportedly did not have derogatory records.
Feria was saddened by the incident, which happened while the country celebrated National Crime Week.
-sunstar
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