Fugitive Cebu policeman pinned down on kidnap

CEBU CITY — Now it can be told.

Fugitive policeman Engelberto Durano was among those who bought from HR Taxi the car that was used in the July 23 abduction of 11-year-old Ryan James Yu.

The HR Taxi clerk, who facilitated the sale, said Durano was among those who bought the white Kia Pride, on June 20, a month before the kidnapping.

Aside from Durano, Cecille Balmori added that she also remembered Robert Galope as among those in the group who made the purchase of the used taxi.

Galope was one of the five suspects in the Yu kidnapping who were arrested in Davao City and brought here to stand trial.

The boy, abducted by two motorcycle-riding men and brought to a waiting white Kia Pride, was subsequently found abandoned in a house at BC Homes. He is now safe with his family.

Balmori went to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) the other day to give her much-awaited account of the purchase of the getaway car.

Durano, charged for the murder of a tricycle driver last December, continues to elude arrest. Police later said he was the mastermind in the Yu kidnapping.

Arrested with Galope in a police dragnet at the Davao City airport where the P1.5-million ransom payoff was to be made, were Edgar Manimog, Jovencio Camado and brothers Henry and Efren Hernandez.

Eight more suspects are being hunted down, among them a man identified only as Kevin, whom police claimed is actually Durano.

It was Galope who said Kevin was Durano’s alias.

Balmori denied involvement in the case, saying she was willing to testify against the suspects in court.

In an affidavit, Balmori said a Casey Ybañez, a certain Dodoy, Durano and another man first came to look for a used car on June 13 and then and there bought a red Kia Pride for P80,000.

But on June 20, the same group, this time with Galope, came back to trade the red car for a white one, claiming defects.

She last saw the group on June 22 when they all came to "exchange pleasantries."

Durano’s photo has been splashed on newspapers and television in connection with his cases.

Balmori was earlier suspected to be an accomplice of the kidnappers after she went on leave on July 23, the same day Yu was kidnapped. She subsequently ignored CIDG invitations for questioning.

Balmori, however, claimed she went to Davao on July 23 to settle a personal problem. — Freeman News Service