Sunstar: Complainant says Durano ‘goons’ mauled them while tourism chief watched

Sunstar: THE election in the Durano-ruled fifth district was marred yesterday by allegations of “terrorism and kidnapping" against the district’s kingpin himself, Danao City Mayor Ramon “Nito" Durano III. Four “personal bodyguards" of Sonia Pua, vice mayoral candidate of Carmen, Cebu and running mate of reelectionist Mayor Virginio Villamor said they were the victims. Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 (Pua’s certificate of candidacy said she is with Liberal, while Villamor is independent. Villamor is a long-time ally of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. But Pua said yesterday she is supporting Garcia’s rival, Rep. Antonio Yapha. In the initial list of candidates, the names of Pua and her daughter, Vanessa Abelgas, appeared as candidates for vice mayor but Abelgas said yesterday that she has withdrawn.) Nito’s Bakud party is backing Villamor and Pua’s rivals, mayoral candidate Amytis Batao and Vice Mayor Al Damiles. Joseph Jay Pepito, Nito Taoy, Harold Hermoso and Felix Bejoc alleged that Durano’s “goons" forced them inside a maroon Mitsubushi Strada around 5:30 p.m. last Sunday in Barangay Luyang, Carmen. They were taken to Nito’s house in Guinsay, Danao City where they were allegedly mauled and stripped of their belongings. Their hands and bodies were tied together and by midnight, they were taken blindfolded to Barangay Ogis and left beside the road. Three men on a motorcycle found them and called the police. The police rushed to the area, placed the “wounded" men in their vehicles, but were met along the way by Nito’s rival and brother, mayoral candidate and former Danao City mayor Jesus “Don" Durano, who “rescued" the four men and took them back to Carmen at dawn. Don was accused of slapping SPO1 Eddie Dalaguet, one of the responding policemen. He admitted this over a radio dyAB interview, saying, “Siko ug sinultihan (He was curt and rude)." Support Don also said he saw members of the 78th Infantry Battalion on board a truck owned by Nito’s sugar mill escorting the mayor. To this, Nito said other government agencies, even the Comelec in the 2004 elections, borrowed vehicles from him and sought logistical support from him. Interviewed before they went out of the house to vote yesterday morning, Nito said he had no idea about the incident and refused to answer any more questions. His son, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, accused of watching while the “victims" were being beaten, said he was in Bacolod City and arrived just yesterday morning. Nito also said he does not own a Mitsubishi Strada. Rep. Red Durano, who was beside his father when reporters visited their house, did not issue a statement. Alibi “I suggest that you go to the investigator. I already told the police chief to dig deeper into this incident," Nito said. When asked what could be the motive of the accusations against his family, Nito replied, “Basin alibi ra na nila (Maybe that’s only an alibi.)" Taoy said he recognized the people who beat him up because he used to work for Nito as one of his “goons," but he said he will not sue anyone. But Nito said he does not know any one of the four. “I do not want for the friction to worsen because children and other innocent people will be affected. I will just bear what happened to me. I can forgive them because I already prayed," Taoy said in an interview. Bodyguard He suffered cuts and bruises in his face. He also had a cut in his wrist from a knife used by one of the men who mauled them. Both Taoy and Pepito are former members of the Philippine National Police. Taoy is from Carmen, while Pepito is from Jubay, Liloan town. Pepito said he was in Carmen that day attending a “meeting," having worked as “bodyguard" of Pua for years now. Pepito, meanwhile, said they suspect that the persons who found them beside the road were part of Nito’s group. “Gi-drama lang nila." The Danao City police blotter said those who found the four were identified as Roel Batucan Paring, driver of a motorcycle, and his companions, Martin Damiles Lucero and Jovy Campos Lawas. The blotter said the three narrated that they found the wounded persons holding guns so they “disarmed" the four and “tied their hands with rope." Failure Lawyer Ervin Estan-darte of Pua’s camp said they are still evaluating what cases to file against Nito. The lawyer added that Taoy and Pepito’s background does not matter because the issue is what the Duranos did to them. Councilor Martin Gerard Villamor, son of Mayor Villamor, complained against the Carmen police for their “willful failure" to intercept the Mitsubishi Strada despite a checkpoint they were conducting. Taoy suspected that the Duranos went after him because as a former member of their group, he knows what to do to “make a candidate win." “So they cannot make any moves because I can counter them." Challenge Interviews with residents in Carmen, however, said they heard it was Taoy’s group that was harassing Batao’s supporters in Barangay Luyang so this was probably why Pua’s rivals decided to take action. Investigators at the Carmen Police Station recorded in their blotter that before the “kidnapping" took place, Durano’s men identified as “Padre Cris" (later identified by Taoy in an interview as Cris Parot) and Nicki Manulat, among others, went to talk to Pua’s political leader, Teofilo Giangan. Durano’s men reportedly told Giangan that if they will not stop threatening their supporters, “they will come back to take them." Minutes later, the vehicles of Nito’s group and Taoy’s group met along the highway, and someone from Durano’s group reportedly asked, “Unsa man mo, mga tawo mo ni Sonia? Ayaw ninyo haras-harasa among mga tawo diri. Ingna si Sonia padad-un mo ug armas aron magpinusilay ta." In his narration of events, Pepito also said the “goons" asked them before they were mauled, “Kamo’y mga isug sa Carmen (Are you the tough guys in Carmen?" Pua, for her part, said she does not know why Nito would do it to them, but added that they would rather focus right now on the canvassing of votes.