Former OFW charged for assaulting cop

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Charges were filed against a former Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who was wounded after allegedly attacking a policeman in Cabatuan, Iloilo last week.

Criminal cases for attempted homicide, direct assault, and malicious mischief were filed against Jay Rute, 49, of Barangay Manguna, Cabatuan before the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutors Office on August 18.

The incident happened when Rute allegedly tried to hack someone at a funeral wake in Manguna village.

Captain Dionisio Estacio, Cabatuan police chief, said that a three-member team was dispatched to the area.

But when police arrived, the suspect was no longer in the wake.

A hot pursuit operation cornered the suspect at his home, just around 30 meters from the wake.

Estacio said when police tried to talk to the suspect, he also attempted to hack Police Staff Sergeant Richard Epacta.

“In self-defense, our policeman pulled his gun and shot the suspect twice,” he said.

Rute sustained a gunshot wound on his right arm and a graze injury on his abdomen.

He was rushed to Ramon Tabiana Memorial District Hospital in Cabatuan town and was later referred to Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City.

The suspect’s mother claimed that Rute has been having some mental issues since he arrived from Taiwan three years ago.

But Estacio said the mother did not specifically go into details about the suspect’s alleged mental illness.