“Even in killing men, observe the rules of propriety.” –Confucius
The manner of the senseless crime, the attacker’s behavior, and the circumstances prior to the incident are comparable to the celebrated Hultman-Chapman murder case, which occurred in Makati City 27 years ago. However, in the shooting death of a 15-year-old male member of the Jalandoni family, which took place at the Laguda Subdivision in Barangay Magsaysay, located in Iloilo City’s La Paz district last month, all the victims belong to one family.
Victim Jezreel Jalandoni, a Grade 10 student at Alphacrest Academy, sustained gunshot wounds to the head, neck, and nose, and died while receiving treatment at Medicus Medical Center in the city’s Mandurriao district. His mother and brother, who were also involved, incurred multiple wounds but survived.
47-year-old Teopisto ‘Totong’ Castroverde Sebanta, the accused gunman, is very similar to Claudio Teehankee, Jr., the assailant responsible for the earlier unprovoked killing of Roland John Chapman and Maureen Hultman at the Dasmariñas Village in Makati City. They could both be psycho killers, trigger-happy maniacs who were intoxicated or under the influence of certain substances, or both.
They both approached their victims’ vehicles and shot them at close range.
In the Hultman-Chapman case, Teehankee, son of the late former Supreme Court Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee, Jr., stopped Hultman’s group and asked for identification from their companion, Jussi Olavi Leino. When Chapman intervened, he was shot dead.
Teehankee then shot Hultman, who died several weeks later at the hospital.
Leino, meanwhile, was also shot but survived.
In the Jalandoni case, Sebanta did not say any word before peppering the victims’ vehicle.
Both attacks took place at night, with all victims shot several times.
The only difference is Teehankee was arrested and convicted. His conviction was also sustained by the Supreme Court, meanwhile, as of this writing, Sabanta remains at large.
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I was the lone Filipino in a jam-packed Colombian restaurant on the corner of 82nd and Roosevelt in Queens, New York City last Tuesday, the day of the FIFA World Cup round of 16 match between Colombia and England.
I witnessed how heartily Colombians cheered their players and how it exploded when Colombia leveled the score to 1-1 towards the end of regulation time. After failing to score in extended time, the two teams went to a penalty shootout, where England won, 4-3, and booked their spot in the quarterfinals.
The English broke Colombian hearts, including crowds both in Moscow and in Queens.
I saw tears in their eyes as they disappeared one by one as I stayed behind to finish my smoothie./WDJ