A Philippine National Police (PNP) official who was previously charged for being involved in a hit-and-run incident, was re-arrested on Sunday morning for allegedly firing a gun outside a restobar in Quezon City.
The suspect was identified as Police Lieutenant Colonel Mark Julio Abong, former chief of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), who is now assigned to the PNP headquarters’ legal service department.
QCPD-CIDU said Abong was nabbed after allegedly assaulting a waiter and firing a gun twice outside a bar along Scout Rallos Street in Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City.
The PNP official was reportedly drunk and argued with a fellow customer.
Tension also occurred at the QCPD-CIDU office in Camp Karingal after Abong tried to leave even though a clearance from the PNP was not given yet.
Abong will face multiple complaints such as alarm and scandal, violation of the Omnibus Election Code (gun ban), physical injuries, and slander.
The gun ban or the prohibition on the bearing, carrying, or transporting of firearms and other deadly weapons was set from August 28 to November 29 due to the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (BSK) elections.
The QCPD-CIDU said there is enough evidence against Abong.
“There is enough evidence because we recovered the gun which he used. At the same time, we have witnesses who could attest that he was the one who fired the gun,” an official said.,
The QCPD-CIDU said no special treatment will be given to Abong.
In August 2022, Abong was relieved from his post as QCPD-CIDU chief after his vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run incident, killing a tricycle driver and injuring a passenger.
In March 2023, the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) of Quezon City dismissed Abong after he was found guilty of multiple charges of grave misconduct, grave neglect of duty, and conduct unbecoming of a police officer with the aggravating circumstance of employment of fraudulent means to conceal an offense.
