Dr. Julian Iñaki Larrazabal-Garcia is treated by medics inside the Carcar Police Station shortly after his release by his abductors on Saturday morning. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
A scion of a prominent family in Ormoc City who has built a business empire in Cebu was found in a hilly portion of Barangay Poblacion I, Carcar City, nearly three hours after he was snatched by still unidentified men just outside the Cebu Doctors University Hospital (CDUH) in Cebu City, on Saturday.
Dr. Julian Iñaki “Jaki” Larrazabal-Garcia, a post graduate intern (PGI) of the hospital and a grandson of Don Potenciano Larrazabal, owner of CDUH, was found 40 kilometers south of Cebu City after he was thrown off a white Toyota Hiace van with a temporary plate number marked 3151.
The 26-year-old doctor sustained bruises, abrasions and wounds on his head, face, body and knees.
Earlier, at around 7:45 a.m., Garcia was about to board his vehicle after his 24-hour duty at CDUH when four men, who wore bonnets, forced him to board a Toyota Hiace van parked next to his vehicle just outside the hospital’s Medical Arts Building along F. Ramos Extension.
As the suspects forced him to board the van, Garcia reportedly threw his cell phone in the parking lot outside CDUH.
“He (Garcia) told me that the suspects blindfolded him inside the vehicle and punched him several times,” said Cebu City Deputy Mayor on police matters Councilor Dave Tumulak, who was able to talk to the victim after he was found in Carcar City hours after the reported kidnapping.
“He could not see their faces, but he could hear their voices although they were not that clear maybe because he was filled with fear at that time,” said Tumulak.
The young doctor also could not tell if his abductors were armed.
KIDNAPPING ALARM
A female witness who saw the commotion outside CDUH immediately called the Fuente Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the place.
Policemen then went to the hospital grounds to conduct a probe.
At around 10:30 a.m., Garcia sent a private message to his younger brother’s Facebook account, saying that he was freed by his abductors in Carcar City.
Garcia’s father, Juli, and a godmother immediately proceeded to Carcar City to see him.
Police have yet to identify the suspects and the motive behind the abduction.
TUMULAK
“Investigators and intelligence officers are very much eager to solve the case, but for now, his family requested to allow him to take a rest and relax since he’s still traumatized by what happened,” said Tumulak, who went to Carcar City to accompany responding policemen and the victim’s father.
The abductors, he said, did not ask for any ransom money nor get anything from the young doctor.
His wallet also remained intact, Tumulak added.
THROWN OFF
Jhufel Dacillo, 22, was eating at his home in Carcar City when he saw a speeding van suddenly come to a halt. A man, whom he later knew as Garcia, was pushed out of the van, blindfolded.
“Naka-blindfold na siya sa dihang gihagbong gikan sa sakyanan. Ako siya gitabangan. (He was blindfolded when he was thrown off the van. I decided to help him),” said Dacillo in an interview.
According to Dacillo, Garcia told him that the suspects did not have any plans of killing him.
“Giingnan kuno siya nga ‘Bai, ayaw kahadlok kay dili ka namo patyon. Igo ra ka namo patagamon.’ (Dr. Garcia said he was told by the suspects, ‘Lad, don’t be afraid because we won’t kill you. We just want to teach you a lesson),” Dacillo said.
Garcia then borrowed Dacillo’s cell phone so that he could contact his brother through Facebook.
From Carcar City, Garcia was taken by an ambulance to his home in Cebu City to recuperate from his wounds and bruises.
Garcia is set to take medical specialization exams this year.
Based on the contents of his cellular phone, Tumulak said Garcia did not receive any threats.
“His father said he is a good man and they could not think of any person who has a grudge on him,” Tumulak said.
Garcia, whose family hails from Ormoc City, is the eldest of four siblings.
“We are happy that, at least, he was found alive. I am just curious why the suspects had to spend much time and effort to do this to him,” Tumulak said.
Based on the investigation conducted by the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), the van used by the suspects was seen in the parking lot outside CDUH on Friday evening. It left after an hour and returned to the area at past 6 a.m. on Saturday.
After abducting Garcia, the van sped off.
Chief Insp. Jose Liddawa, chief of the Carcar City Police Station, said they are doing their best, in collaboration with CCPO and the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), to identify and arrest the suspects.
“We want to know what really was the motive behind the abduction,” Liddawa said.
‘EXTORTION RACKET’
Minutes after reports of Garcia’s abduction spread online, netizens surmised that the physician might have been a victim of a “kidnap extortion” racket by some policemen.
But Tumulak was quick to appease people by saying that Garcia’s abduction was not likely meant to extort money from the doctor’s family since there was no demand for ransom.
“No, this is not a kidnap extortion racket like what happened in Manila,” he said.
Lacson
Senator Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, earlier revealed that his office received several letters pointing to kidnap extortion rackets in Cebu and Pasay City, Metro Manila.
Last January, Cebu Daily News also received reports of a group of young people and foreigners who were arrested by the police in Cebu City over a supposed traffic violation.
The young men reportedly ended up in a police station, bruised and beaten.
The cops then allegedly asked for money to release them so that they need not spend a night in jail.
No formal complaint was filed against the cops by those who claimed to have been victimized.
But Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, director of PRO-7, said he has so far not received any reports of kidnap extortion rackets involving policemen in the region.
He said Lacson texted him about reports of extortion, but he had no idea what particular cases the senator wanted him to investigate.
Taliño is waiting for the senator to give him a formal report of specific cases that need to be investigated and vowed to punish erring policemen in Cebu.
President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Monday ordered all policemen to stop conducting anti-drug operations following the death of Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo in the hands of policemen inside Camp Crame.
Jee was taken from his home in Angeles, Pampanga, last October 18, 2016 by members of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group in the guise of a drug operation.
It was later revealed that the businessman was killed inside the police headquarters in Camp Crame on the day of his abduction.
The PNP has formed a counter-intelligence task force against rogue cops and called on police officials to clean the organization from scalawags./USJ-R Intern Jheysel Ann S. Tangaro