The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday said that the team leader of the Special Operations Unit of the Eastern Police District (EPD), Major Emerson Coballes, who was said to be involved in a robbery-extortion incident targeting a Chinese national in Las Piñas City, has been declared Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL).
PNP Spokesperson and concurrent Police Regional Office-3 chief, BGen. Jean Fajardo, said that Coballes did not report to the headquarters of the EPD, despite a return-to-work order issued by his senior officers.
“A return-to-work order has already been sent to him, and until now he has not shown up. So, he will be declared as absent without official leave. So, his status is now AWOL,” the PNP spokesperson said in a media interview in Camp Crame.
The decision of the PNP comes amid their ongoing probe into the possible involvement of higher-ranking police officials in the illegal detention and ₱85-million robbery from a Chinese national.
Earlier, eight EPD-DSOU personnel were charged for the illegal service of a warrant and seizing money and assets from the Chinese businessman on April 2.
The entire Special Operations Unit was relieved from duty following the alleged irregular operation involving a Chinese family in an exclusive subdivision.
The PNP spokesperson added that they are now also evaluating the possibility of charging the unit’s team leader, as it is deemed unlikely that he was unaware of his men’s operation.
