MALACAÑANG on Thursday insisted the move to send erring cops to Mindanao, a recurring form of punishment under the Duterte administration, remained a “strategic move” despite objections raised by local officials and even a senior Cabinet official.
In a news briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella defended Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa’s orders to transfer two rouge Mandaluyong policemen, caught hurting men who violated a barangay curfew, to Marawi City this week, saying the country’s top cop was “just following…policy.”
“I’m sure it’s not meant to cast aspersions upon any ethnic group or any place. It’s just a strategic move,” Abella said.
Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Development Authority on Thursday affirmed its earlier decision to dismiss a traffic enforcer who extorted money from a motorist for a lane violation in Quezon City in exchange for cancellation of the traffic ticket issued against the latter.
The MMDA-Legal and Legislative Affairs Staff subsequently denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Traffic Constable Rolando Cervo, saying the sworn affidavits of the complainant, Dr. Rommel Torres, was sufficient to bolster the grave misconduct case against him.
MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim said the affirmation of the decision by the agency’s legal body only proved the agency would not condone misconduct of its personnel.
“We vow to cleanse our ranks of bad eggs and we are staying true to our word. May this case and others like this one be a wake-up call to those who might have lost their paths and strayed in rendering public service,” Lim said in a statement.
The MMDA-LLAS maintained “the sworn statement of complainant in this case may be admitted and appreciated in evidence in lieu of his direct testimony in finding substantial evidence.”
This is not the first time, according to officials, the PNP ordered the deployment of cops with pending cases.
In February 2017, Duterte himself ordered the redeployment of some rogue cops, ranging from recurring tardiness to alleged involvement in the drug trade.
In Marawi City, where government forces are currently battling out extremists, Dela Rosa defended his decision, saying the erring cops would be “the best cops they can even become” after this assignment.
In his motion, Cervo merely denied the allegation against him by Torres, the MMDA-LLAS added.
Dela Rosa’s move, however, did not sit well with Provincial Crisis Management Committee spokesperson and ARMM regional assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong.
“It’s quite offensive to treat us like a trash bin for abusive cops. And to use the Marawi Siege as a punishment shows insensitivity. Erring cops should be sued with administrative case. What they need is to face accountability, not temporary punishment,” he added.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who was with Dela Rosa in the JTF Marawi news conference, expressed his “personal” objection to the PNP chief’s action to send erring cops to Mindanao.
“Respondent Cervo never contended, but in fact admitted that he was the duty officer at the time on the date and place of the incident. He likewise did not challenge the fact that he was identified as the person who apprehended and demanded P500 from complainant,” the MMDA-LLAS said in the comment on Cervo’s motion.
Records showed that on Oct. 5, 2014 at 7 p.m., Cervo flagged down Torres, who was with his wife that time, near the U-turn slot in front of Edsa northbound near a shopping mall for lane violation.
He told Torres he should not be on the lane for vehicles using the U-turn slot.
The traffic enforcer got Torres’ license and issued a citation ticket to the driver, adding he had to undergo seminar for the infraction.
Another traffic enforcer, whom the complainant identified as Jonathan Cabillon, went in front of the vehicle and inspected the driver’s license while Cervo talked to Torres.
After learning that Torres lived in Nueva Ecija, Cervo offered the driver the option to give an “incentive” or “percentage” of P500 to him in exchange for cancelling the citation ticket.
When Torres was about to give the money to the traffic enforcer, Cervo changed his mind and demanded P1,000 from the driver. After giving the amount, Torres was allowed to leave the area. With PNA