BACOLOD City – The grieving mother of a jail officer killed in an ambush last week is seeking justice.
Yvonne Vargas, a public school teacher, claimed that her son Jail Officer 1 Jayvee Jason Vargas was not involved in any illegal drug activities.
“All I want is justice, justice for my son because the way he was killed was too much,” Yvonne told reporters on Monday.
Jayvee together with his three companions was ambushed by unidentified gunmen who opened fire at their vehicle in Barangay Pahanocoy shortly before midnight on Friday.
Jayvee died on the spot. The gunmen then fled and police have yet to identify them as of this writing.
Yvonne questioned as to why her son was being linked in illegal drugs as they did not receive any criminal complaints nor they were visited by police as part of “Oplan Tokhang.”
“What has he ever done you wrong? Why did you kill him?” she lamented.
Police Station 9 chief Lieutenant Jovito Pastrana said prior to the ambush, Vargas was in La Carlota City to follow up on a personal transaction. He then picked up his father at a local cockfighting ring.
According to Pastrana, at least eight armed men carried out the ambush and the incident was likely planned.
Last April, Jayvee survived an earlier attempt on his life when he was also ambushed outside the city’s Bredco Port.
The city’s top cop Colonel Henry Biñas has since ordered Pastrana to investigate the ambush thoroughly, adding the suspects involved in the latest ambush may be the same from April and, with the amount of bullet casings recovered.
“It is clear the suspects hold a deep grudge against Vargas,” said Biñas./PN
