THE Provincial Investigation and Detection Management Unit (Pidmu) of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) found irregularities on the custody of an impounded vehicle owned by the Municipal Government of Moises Padilla that was involved in a vehicular accident last month.
Superintendent Edel Jose Manzano, head of Pidmu, told SunStar Bacolod on April 12 that they submitted the report to the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Western Visayas last week.
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 in Barangay Crossing Magallon, 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 was charged with illegal possession of explosives and firearms but were released three weeks after due to insufficient evidence.
Based on their investigation, the impounded vehicle cannot be turned over to the government without the proper authority from the court, Manzano said, adding the car is part of the evidence in the case, which is still pending with the Prosecutor's Office.
Turning over the vehicle to the other party should have a clearance first from the court, he added.
“He (custodian) failed to support his claim that the police station has no area for the impounded vehicle and that he can already turn over the car in ‘good faith’ to its owner,” said Manzano.
He said Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil Jr., provincial police director, will make his action against the custodian based on the recommendation or decision of the regional headquarters.
The PRO-Western Visayas will also conduct a separate investigation on the matter.