By Jennifer P. Rendon
His was a case of bad acting.
A 37-year old man was arrested after he allegedly commandeered a tricycle carrying two heads of live hog Saturday morning in Pavia, Iloilo.
Jonel Mediodia, a resident of Poblacion East, Oton, Iloilo, initially pretended that someone duped him into taking a tricycle owned by someone else.
According to police reports, Mediodia drove another tricycle from Oton until he reached Barangay Jibao-an, Pavia.
When he saw a parked tricycle with two hogs, he allegedly drove past it and parked his vehicle at a distance.
He went back to the parked tricycle and tried his key on. When the engine turned to life, he drove it off to the public market of Tigbauan town.
At about the same time, Joebert Orbe, 47, of of Fairville Subdivision, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo reported that someone carted away his tricycle with two hogs while it was parked in front of his kiosk at Jibao-an village around 1 am Saturday.
Luckily, witnesses claimed seeing a man wearing a leather jacket with black ball cap who parked his service tricycle in front of Savannah Subdivision near Orbe’s kiosk.
The man allegedly drove away Orbe’s tricycle to the circumferential road in Oton town.
Major Jojo Tabaloc, Pavia police chief, said they immediately took custody of Mediodia’s motorcycle. When he returned, he was immediately brought in for questioning.
But instead of immediately admitting, Mediodia guised himself as a “victim.”
He claimed that a friend from Mandurriao, Iloilo City borrowed his motorcycle and instructed him to get it in Jibao-an.
He said he just did as he was told.
Tabaloc said he pressed Mediodia to identify his friend.
“We went to Mandurriao where he pointed to the man who allegedly borrowed his tricycle,” he said.
But the man swore that he had nothing to do with Mediodia and his claims.
“In fact, he vehemently denied knowing the suspect,” Tabaloc said.
Mediodia even tried to physically attack the man following the denial.
Tabaloc said they then began investigating the suspect’s background.
“I learned that he had been into the business of swine trading,” he said.
In fact, he supplied pigs for the lechon business of Tabaloc’s family.
Further investigation revealed that Mediodia’s business went downhill.
“That’s when I confronted him. It didn’t take long for him to admit what really happened,” Tabaloc said.
Mediodia admitted that he suffered financial struggles and was forced to hijack Orbe’s tricycle and hogs.
Police then went to Tigbauan town where the suspect sold the stolen pigs. Luckily, the animals were yet to be slaughtered.
Mediodia is now detained and will be charged accordingly.