Dad of Dennis Roldan’s victim killed in accident

MANILA, Philippines - The father of a boy allegedly kidnapped by former actor and Quezon City Rep. Dennis Roldan was killed in an accident in Tublay town in Benguet province, police said on Friday. Police Officer 3 Carlito Ateneo of the Tublay municipal police cited initial investigation showing that Roger Lim Yu's car (VEM-841) on Thursday fell into a 250-foot ravine, bursting into flames as it hit the ground. Ateneo said Yu was identified through his driver’s license, which indicated that he was working as a consultant for the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (Pacer) in Manila. Relatives also confirmed his identity. A report by Bombo Radyo's Baguio bureau said Supt. Jaime Rodrigo Lial, Cordillera medico legal officer, also confirmed the identity of the victim, a resident of Pasig City. The victim, a 36-year-old resident of Pasig City, is said to be the father of Kenshi Yu, who was allegedly abducted by a group led by Roldan in 2004. Initial investigation showed that Yu was traveling along Marcos Highway toward Baguio City at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday when his vehicle fell off a curved road and plummeted into a creek about 200 feet below. Residents of barangay Ambassador told police they heard a “loud crash" that morning but did not bother to check on the site since it was still dark at that time. At around 6 a.m., villagers from a nearby area who were fetching water from a stream noticed gasoline running off the water. They traced the source of the gas leak and discovered the burned vehicle. After being alerted, local policemen rushed to the crash site and found the charred remains of the victim. “Hindi namin siya ma-recognize kasi sunog na ang katawan (We can’t recognize him because his body was burned)," Ateneo said. On Friday morning, a group of people who identified themselves as relatives of the victim dropped by the police station to get Yu’s belongings. Items retrieved from the victim included compact discs, pieces of clothing, and a wallet containing money, business cards, and automated teller machine cards. The victim’s mother and sister, who both drove up to Benguet from Manila, said Yu only told them he would be vacationing in Baguio City. A follow-up investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the accident. Police ruled out a slippery road as the cause since it had not been raining in the area in the past days. Residents claimed that it was “foggy" at the time of the incident. “We are also looking at the possibility that the driver could have fallen asleep," Ateneo said. - GMANews.TV