DAVAO CITY — Gone were the days when two people court each other in person.
First, there was penpal then the email order brides but it is now history.
The advent of digitalization opened up the floodgates of online relationship some real, some suffered setbacks of a long distance relationship and recently two innocent minors were killed because of a love affair which blossomed and ended up via Facebook.
The story of Denisa 33 and Jessie Bon Palomo, 33, started very sweet with almost daily video call and they had plans for themselves.
Denisa had three minor children, two girls ages 15 and 11 and a boy 13 respectively while Palomo have two kids backhome in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, all children were born out of marital wedlock.
Denisa is an Overseas Filipino Worker who worked as househelp in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia met and had a relationship with Palomo for over a year until last August 22, 2022, Palomo agreed with Denisa to look after her two daughters in Purok Mangga Landing, Barangay Darong, Sta. Cruz Davao del Sur. he left his hometown and soon landed a job in a cement factory near Denisa’s house.
According to Palomo, love brought his foot to Danesa’s house.
Mariflor, a neighbor of the victims told Newsline “The man arrived and he looked after Cel Marie, 15 and Ahis, 11, send and fetched them from the public school where they were studying.
“Dili man sya magtinngog-tingog, makita lang namu nga maligo kung buntag maghatud-kuha sa mga bata, nagtrabaho siya sa planta sa semento ana lang,” says Miraflor (He never talked to us, we saw him taking a bath in the morning, sends the kids to school and fetch them, he worked in the cement plant, that’s all)
But the online relationship turned sour in November 2, the lovers had a huge fight over messenger video call and both decided to end their relationship. Denisa ousted Palomo from her house which prompted the later to rent a boarding house near the plant.
The fight between the lovers escalated on the evening of November 10, Palomo said he was in Pigcawayan. North Cotabato when the heated altercation happened at around 10 in the evening which prompted him to go to Barangay Darong wee hours of the morning and entered the house.
Pigcawayan, North Cotabato is 189.9 kilometers away from Barangay Darong, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur or 3 hour and 43-minute travel..
Palomo said the crime happened at around 2:00 in the morning but victims neighbors said they heard a voice asking for help at around 1:00 am but did not mind it because the voice was not audible.
During the interview with newsline, Paolomo admitted the crime but denied molesting Cel Marie, 15. “Gipaubos naku iyang bayo’ (an Ilonngo term for clothes ), pero natauhan ko, wala naku gidayon (I lowered her shorts but I suddenly realized, so I stopped, I didn’t push through) .
“Gutom na kaayo ko, feeling naku naulawan ko, ginakataw-an ko nila, gapoy na kaayo ko, nawala ko sa akong sarili, mao to ako silang gituok,” he told newsline (I was so hungry, I felt humiliated, I was angry, I was so tired and I lost myself, I strangled them).
If Palomo’s revelation is strue, he narrated “Naghangyo ko sa iya (Danesa) ibalik nalang akong nagasto, gi-loan nga P20,000 pag-adto naku adtong August 22 kay ana sya ako magbantay sa iyang anak, ako nagpa-enroll, akong gi-atiman ang mga bata kay mahal naku siya (Danesa) , akong guhaon akong kuarta ug ang uban pa nakung kuarta kay mopauli na ko, sige siya saad, hangtud nga ana na sad sya dili niya ihatag, nagkuha na ko og police clearance para magkuha og lisensya kay mopauli na ko.”
(I begged to her, to return my money, refund the money I spent, I-loaned P20,000 when I went when I went their in August 22, to look after her daughters, I enrolled them, I took care of them, because I love her (Danesa) and get my money back and other expenses I incurred because I just want to go home, she kept on promising until she told me she will not give my, I secured police clearance to get a (driver’s) license and go home).
Police Staff Sergeant Alexia Bañamola, Investigator-on-case of Sta. Cruz Police Precint told Newsline “Nasuko siya sa mother and the victims kay sa dihang naningil sya gikataw-an lang sya sa mga biktima, sa kasuko niya kay murag wala na sya tagda mao iyang nahimo ang pagpatay (He was angry to the mother and the victims because when he ask for his money the victims laughed at him because of his anger and him being ignored he killed them).
Police Major Rose Aguilar, station chief of the Ecoland Police Station in Davao City, said they are receiving complaint about online relationship “But most of them come to us when they are harassed or bullied but they never open up during the commission of the crime maybe due to personal reasons, maybe ashamed or privacy of sort.”
But the cases are referred to the anti-cyber crime division who has the jurisdiction of the case.
For those who are into online relationship or internet relationship or those planning to have one, Aguilar has an advise “Do not trust, there is always doubt we do not even trust people we know in person, how much more those you only know via the internet.”-Editha Z. Caduaya
