Theft and Robbery section chief S/Insp. Ambrosio Ibones yesterday said that robbery suspects Jun Peterdith Noval and his cousin Eleazer Noval Hallasco were released just before the closing of the office hours yesterday after Gil Entera, a taxi driver did not sign his affidavit but filed instead an affidavit of desistance.
This after the father of one of the suspects, a top government official in the region, was able to settle everything with the victim.
Entera also said he did it out of "humanitarian reason" and that his witnesses had "turned hostile and are no longer interested in testifying".
The cabbie said Noval and Hallasco flagged his taxi down at around midnight and asked him to take them to Sunshine Village in Inayawan. And as soon as the two got inside, Entera claimed that Noval put his gun on the cab's dashboard.
Entera said that when they reached Sunshine Village, the two refused to disembark. Noval allegedly aimed the gun at his head instead and ordered him to take them to barangay Pook, in Talisay City.
While on their way, Entera alleged that Noval took his money, cellphone and wallet. Shortly after arriving in Talisay, Entera claimed that the suspects ordered him to take them to a motel where they went in and out of the driveway twice, as the two claimed they were looking for the motel's owner.
Entera said the suspects, still aiming the gun at him, ordered him to bring them to the South Reclamation Project, then to Talisay City again and back to Cebu City.
When their "cruising" taxi reached the corner of P. del Rosario Street and Osmeña Boulevard, Entera said he instantly got the idea of driving his taxi to block the path of a City Traffic Operations and Management car driven by Citom personnel Jose Ray Mandaue and Victor Albacin.
Albacin said he was initially angry at Entera until he realized he was asking for help because his two passengers robbed him.
Albacin and Mandaue then approached the taxi prompting Noval to come out with his hands in the air. The alleged loot was recovered from the taxi's back seat and the magnum .357 revolver supposedly used by Noval was found at the taxi's front seat. Ibones said it contained only one empty shell.
But in a separate interview, Entera said he decided not to pursue the filing of the case this after a fellow cabbie told him that the suspects' family was very respected. He was also reportedly told that the suspects could not have done that if they were not drunk. - Flor Z. Perolina