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Thursday, March 04, 2004
Durano meted life for driver’s slay
By Giovanni A. Nilles Sun.Star Staff Reporter
With Minerva B. Gerodias
THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) yesterday convicted ex-policeman Engilberto Durano of the murder of tricycle driver Rogelio Bacalso more than three years ago.
Durano and co-accused Rodulfo Robles were sentenced to suffer imprisonment of 20 to 40 years each and ordered to pay P220,000 in civil indemnity and damages.
Defense counsel Salvador Solima promised to ask for a reconsideration, while the Crusade Against Violence expressed satisfaction over the decision.
Durano, who is still facing charges of kidnap-for-ransom and frustrated murder, was very unhappy with the outcome and accused the court of considering only the prose-cution’s evidence.
He added that the investigating policemen did not even present the bullet recovered from the crime scene. To him, this is vital evidence because it will prove whether the bullet came from the gun issued to him by the Philippine National Police.
Although star witness Lloyd Carampatan wanted the death penalty for Durano, he heaved a sigh of relief over the prison term. He said he will no longer feel as anxious as when there was still the possibility that Durano would be acquitted.
At large
Carampatan described Tuesday evening as perhaps the longest night of his life.
Carampatan and his parents Peter and Jane could not sleep, worried as they were about the outcome of the case.
Carampatan’s testimony almost cost his life. He was shot in the head in March 2001, allegedly by Roy Pineda. Carampatan later said he saw Durano in the getaway car after Pineda shot him.
“It would have been better if he had gotten a death sentence,” Peter Carampatan said of Durano.
In a 13-page decision, Judge Olegario Sarmiento Jr. found enough evidence to establish conspiracy and treachery among Durano, Robles and Leonardo Gopar (who remains at large) and a certain Joseph, who was said to be Durano’s driver.
Judge Sarmiento pointed out that private prosecutor Alfredo Sipalay presented eyewitnesses Joebert Algonitas and Carampatan, who detailed how Bacalso was murdered on the night of Dec. 22, 2000.
Bacalso, who was then resting inside his house in Gardenville, Barangay Busay, Cebu City, was called by Robles, Gopar and Joseph. They said Durano wanted to talk to him.
Car stolen?
His wife added that Bacalso would not have gone with the three had it not been for their assurance that he would not be harmed.
Algonitas and Carampatan, who were in different sites near the crime scene, then saw Durano mauling Bacalso before shooting. Bacalso was hit at the back of his head, with the bullet tearing out through his nostril.
The witnesses added that the fallen Bacalso was then loaded into Durano’s car.
Other witnesses pointed to how the vehicle was abandoned near a cliff in Busay, its baggage compartment dripping with blood.
In his defense, Durano said he could not have shot Bacalso since he was inside his house, checking on the plumbing, when he heard four gunshots. He recalled commenting that Christmas merrymaking must have started early for his neighbors.
As he went out to check on his car, where he also reportedly left his gun, someone was already driving it away, prompting him to report a carnapping and the loss of his firearm.
He fled
But Judge Sarmiento dismissed this version.
“It did not negate the fact that he killed Bacalso. The court does not discount the possibility that immediately after the incident, he purposely entered in the police blotter the loss of his personal things, which are connected to the crime, to project his defense,” part of the ruling read.
For the court, Durano’s actions were calculated to extricate himself from the killing.
Although Gopar executed a confession, Judge Sarmiento did not give it much weight as he is still at large and could not be confronted on his admission that he pulled the trigger.
Judge Sarmiento also did not take into account the testimony of Junrel, Bacalso’s son, who said that it was not Durano who shot his father, for lack of a cross-examination.
“Durano and his driver fled. Until at present, Joseph (the driver) is still at large. Durano was arrested only on Aug. 8, 2002. As it is, this indicates consciousness of guilt. It has been truly said that ‘the wicked flee, even when no man pursueth. But the righteous are as bold as the lion’,” the ruling also read.
‘A disgrace’
Judge Sarmiento decided that there was “a joint purpose, concerted action and community of interest” to kill Bacalso.
Even if the penalty is only for a maximum of 40 years, the Crusade Against Violence, which supported the case against Durano, is happy with the outcome of the case.
As for collaborating prosecutor Fritz Quiñanola, a retired police general, “Durano is a disgrace not only to the PNP but to the entire community” and deserves the penalty.
SPO4 Mario Monilar of the homicide section hailed the decision.
“If the suspect is convicted, it means we had a strong case. But as to the sentence, it is really up to the court. We cannot question that,” Monilar said.
Now, however, the Carampatans are worried about their future.
“We are afraid that we might be asked to leave the police camp, or the witness protection program. We will be vulnerable to revenge attacks once we leave the camp,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd, his parents, his four siblings and his two-year-old son have been living inside a police camp since he testified against Durano.
(March 4, 2004 issue)
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