Guard faces criminal case

CEBU, Philippines - Not a hostage-taking, but blackmail. This was what Pedro Longakit, Jr. told members of the media when he clarified that he did not hold his 15-year-old daughter hostage saying it was part of the blackmail to get his family back together.

The security guard however admitted that despite his clarifications, he cannot evade the charges filed by the police against him after Borbon police yesterday filed a case for violation of Republic Act 9282 otherwise known as Illegal Possession of Firearms.

Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Manuel Degolacion who conducted the inquest proceedings said Pedro’s daughter opted not to file a case for Illegal Detention against her father saying he did not harm her.

 Degolacion recommended the filing of the case before the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) in Borbon-Tabogon after Longakit waived his right to a preliminary investigation. A P60,000 bail was recommended for Longakit’s temporary liberty.

Longakit, 39, a resident of Sitio Kinamagan, Barangay Poblacion, Borbon said he loves his daughter so much and he will never do anything to hurt his daughter whom he claimed was close to him.

“Di nako kayang patyon akong anak, mas okey pa ako ang muonay sa ako kaugalingon, ing-ana nako kamahal ako mga anak (I could never bear to kill my daughter. I would rather kill myself. That is how much I love her.), Longakit said.He said his wife, Jennifer, left them for almost a year because of his attitude but after incident, his wife came back.“Nalipay ko, tungod sa nahitabu nibalik akong asawa sa amua. 18 years naming minyu…tingali leksyon nani namu na di magpataas sa garbo (I’m happy because my wife came back after what happened. We’ve been married for 18 years, maybe this is serves as a lesson that we should not let pride rule us.), he said.Longakit was reported to have held his daughter hostage for 16 hours at the second floor of their house. 

Meanwhile, Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador denied GDS Security and Detective Agency’s plan to retrieve Longakit’s .38 revolver from police custody.

Comendador pointed out that the firearm will be submitted to the court as evidence of the case they filed.

They are also studying the possibility of filing additional charges against Logakit including a case for violation of R.A. 9262 otherwise known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) Law and child abuse charges Longakit.

With this latest incident, Comendador pointed out how the media’s stories affect the public saying the media plays an important role in giving information to the people.

“Like sa nahitabo in Talisay, naay tendency nga kopyahon sa uban labi na siguro ug desperado na,” he said added but clarified that the media could also not sacrifice their job of informing the public.

The provincial police chief added that what happened boils down to the family as the basic unit of the society. He admitted that the police could never prevent the same incidents from happening but stressed that family relationships could be strengthened through social works and services.

To recall, Longakit revealed that domestic problems and the work that he abandoned last Monday led him to nearly turn shoot himself with his service firearm.

Jennifer admitted that jealousy became the root of their problem after Pedro was being teased by their neighbor that she was having an affair with another man.

In a separate interview with The FREEMAN, Philippine Mental Health Association head Dr. Glenda Basubas said the incident was a wakeup call to the government and private sector in promoting mental health, which is an important indicator of a country’s health status.

 Basubas said there is a need to strengthen information and education on mental health rather than go for medication.

“Naa gyud something wrong sa iyang behavior that needed treatment that caused his violence,” Basubas said.

If drug use issues are involved, this could cause an individual to become more suspicious, suffer from hallucinations and have a dysfunctional personality that would extend to relationships with the family.

She pointed out that Longakit’s psychiatric history should also be investigated to understand what happened and to prevent it from happening again.

“Wala ba’y abuse nahitabo? Others are suffering in silence and others give-in because of fear,” Basubas said, adding that the reluctance to report cases of domestic violence because some consider it a “private matter” is a factor in its prevalence today.

Basubas said there are few complaints of domestic violence because the women who suffer feel that they can’t be protected by the law or they fear a threat to their own lives or worry that the family would fall apart. (FREEMAN)