Probe on impounded car figured in mishap starts

THE custodian of the impounded vehicle from Moises Padilla Municipal Police Station will undergo a pre-charge investigation.

Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil Jr., provincial director of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo), said Wednesday he already directed Superintendent Edel Jose Manzano, chief of the Provincial Investigation and Detection Management Unit, to facilitate the investigation after the impounded vehicle was figured in a road accident over the weekend.

“We will try to see if there is probable cause or if he is liable for an offense,” Castil added.

The province’s top cop said he was able to read the written explanation of the custodian, whom he refused to name.

Castil said the custodian's explanation was vague as the latter failed to support his claim that the vehicle was already turned over to the local government unit.

"It cannot be released immediately because the case is still ongoing and there has been no order yet from the fiscal," he added.

Castil said the custodian remains at the police station pending the investigation.

He also said they will submit a report to Police Regional Office (PRO)–Western Visayas for a separate investigation on the matter.

This is to avoid a whitewash, he added.

When asked if the incident is related to politics, Castil refused to comment as he claimed he will only focus on police matters.

“For now, we will just focus on why did they use the vehicle despite it was being used as an evidence," he said.

On March 18, Benedick Isidro, 43, a member of the town's Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team and a resident of Barangay Alijis, Bacolod City, drove the Mitsubishi Strada pick-up truck owned by the town but he lost control and hit an acacia tree at Barangay Crossing Magallon in Moises Padilla.

The same pick-up truck was reportedly used by Vice Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo and her husband Felix Yulo III when they were flagged down in a police checkpoint last December.

The couple were charged with illegal possession of explosives and firearms charges but were released three weeks after due to insufficient evidence. (GYM/SunStar Bacolod)