Police one step closer to resolving cash dispute

Police recorded yesterday the serial numbers of the controversial P49,000, puting them a step closer in determining the real owner of the cash recovered from a victim of the Ultra stampede.

Lovinsky Soriano, 36, a jeepney driver, showed up at the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) of the Eastern Police District (EPD) yesterday to allow them to record the serial number of the recovered bills.

The money was turned over last Monday by Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio to Soriano and his sister by at City Hall compound after volunteer worker Candy Lacno certified that she recovered the cash while searching the pockets of fatality victims for identification.

Lacno said the money was taken from the pockets of Aurora Soriano, the mother of the siblings.

However, the cash is also being claimed by the family of another stampede victim, Virginia Javierto, 81.

"The conscience of my family is clean. We will cooperate with the police until they were able to determine the real owner of the money," Soriano said.

He also turned over the clothes his mother was wearing at the time of the stampede.

PO3 Arman Valenzuela, CIU investigator, said they would compare the serial number of the recovered cash with those withdrawn from the Philippine Veteran’s Bank (PVB) branch at Camp Aguinaldo by Javierto and her two children on the eve of the stampede.

"As of now, we cannot say who the real owners are. But we are now a step closer to the truth," Valenzuela said.

Soriano said they were surprised when the four sons of Javierto came forward to claim the money.

He admitted they were surprised that their mother was carrying that much cash on that day, but pointed out that their mother had a buy-and-sell business in Batangay Tatalon and owned a number of houses for rent.

Soriano said the Javiertos said there are two other families claiming ownership of the cash.

"Pera kasi ang pinag-uusapan dito. Sa sobrang hirap ng buhay kung anu-anong paraan na ang ginagawa ng mga kababayan natin para kumita," he said, noting that it was only the Javiertos that have coordinated with the police.

He said he was instructed by his father to cooperate fully with the police until the "truth comes out."

"Payag kami na isauli ang pera kung mapatunayan na hindi sa nanay namin ‘yan," he said.

However, upon the directive of his father, he did not leave behind the cash and only allowed the serial numbers to be recorded. – Non Alquitran