A motorcycle rider who was a basketball player lies on the ground after being a victim of a hit-and-run incident near the Redemptorist Church in Cebu City. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police here are focusing on checking CCTV cameras to get a clearer image of the license plate and the driver of the vehicle allegedly involved in the hit-and-run incident that killed 23-year-old basketball player Jeslar Uriel Larumbe.
“We already have a picture of what has transpired before the incident. But again, we have to get more information ug more CCTV para mahan-ay gyud nato, matagpi tagpi gyud nato ang atong istorya (and more CCTV so that we can put things in order, and we can patch together the story),” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
READ: Jeslar Uriel Larumbe: Hit-and-run victim was an MVP on and off the court
Assurance to get hit-and-run driver
Rafter said this during a press briefing on Tuesday, February 6, where she assured the Larube family that the person responsible for the death of the victim would be held accountable.
It can be recalled that Larumbe’s motorcycle was allegedly hit by a vehicle with ‘VIP blinkers’ as the victim was traveling near the Redemptorist Church in Cebu City.
As of this writing, all the police stations in Cebu City are working together on the Larumbe case.
READ: Rama: ‘Do not stop looking for person behind ‘hit-and-run’ incident’
CCTV footage of victim, hit-and-run vehicle
Rafter said that they had found a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that showed the victim and the vehicle involved traveling along the area of responsibility of the Mabolo Police Station.
She said that they were also checking CCTV cameras of areas within the Waterfront Police Station, after receiving information that the vehicle involved allegedly passed by in the area after the incident.
“Karon ang atoang gipanghingusgan gayod, ang pagbacktrack kay naa na tay description,” said Rafter.
(Now, what we are focusing on is to to backtrack because now we have a description.)
READ: Cebu City police probes death of local basketball player in road accident
Clearer image of vehicle’s plate number
However, they have yet to find a clearer image of the vehicle’s plate number because of how fast it was running.
Rafter said that they would be backtracking to find out the whereabouts of the vehicle and get a clearer image of its plate number or the driver’s identity.
They will also be assessing where the victim and the vehicle met along the road and will be checking if there were other incidents that took place before the fatal hit-and-run incident.
Furthermore, police will be backtracking to determine where the victim was coming from before the incident.
READ: LTO-7 to work closely with authorities to probe for hit-and-run victim’s death
Police also ask for patience in probe
Rafter also asked the victim’s family and the public to be patient as authorities were relentlessly working to catch the perpetrator of this crime.
She also clarified that the vehicle involved was not a part of a convoy.
“When you talk of convoy, it means nga naay daghan sakyanan involved. So naay lead car, naa tay VIP, naay tay plain car, naa tay detail security. It’s not a convoy complement,” said Rafter.
(When we talk of a convoy, it means that there are many vehicles involved. So there will be a lead car, there will be a VIP, there will be a plain car, then we will have a detail security. It’s not a convoy complement.)
She said that the motorcycles seen driving along the road with the involved vehicle were only passing by and had no connection to the incident.
With this, Rafter reassured again the family of the victim that they were making progress in the case.
READ: Driver in Davao’s hit-and-run case surrenders after ex-president Duterte offers reward
Deeper probe on incident — police
“Although, we cannot say nga as soon as possible but we are assuring the family ug ang atong katawhan nga subayon jud nato ang mao nga panghitabo. Kay dili pwede nga ing ani nga mogawas nga scot-free (ang suspect),” she said.
(Although, we cannot say that (we can catch the culprit) as soon as possible, but we are reassuring the family and the public that we are really investigating deeply on what really happened. Because it cannot be that it will come out that (the suspect) will go scot-free.)
“Gipaabot sa atong city director, si Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, ang iyang pahasubo sa tibuok pamilya bahin sa hinanaling kamatayon niadtong batan-una,” added Rafter.
(Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, city director, wants to have his condolences to reach the victim’s family for death of that young man.) | with Mark Bandolon, CTU Intern