2 witnesses vs Ecleo differ on vehicle

CEBU — Contrary to the earlier statement of a prosecution witness, a witness of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) testified differently on the kind of vehicle allegedly used to transport the body of the murdered wife of cult leader Ruben Ecleo.

The other day, CIDG investigation chief Enrique Lacerna quoted a tricycle driver as telling the CIDG that it was a white van that he saw in Barangay Coro, Dalaguete town in January last year.

The driver reportedly said that while he was driving toward Barangay Cawayan, he saw the white van parked on the roadside with its rear door open and in it lay a black garbage bag tied with packaging tape.

A bag of the same description was found in a ravine a few feet from where the van was seen parked. It contained the body of Alona Bacolod, Ecleo’s wife. Ecleo is being tried for the killing.

Prosecution witness Gloria Navaja, however, earlier testified that she saw a red Toyota Corolla parked in the same area where the tricycle driver saw the white van.

Navaja said that when she passed by the area, she saw the black plastic bag tied with packaging tape on the ground between Ecleo and bodyguard Juryven Padero.

But Lacerna told the court that he never heard of Navaja before and was not aware of her testimony.

The CIDG is the lead agency that first investigated the case. — Freeman News Service