City Councilor George Goking, chair of the committee on trade and commerce, said Tuesday, November 22, that some businessmen here are alarmed over increasing reports of cops abusing their authority and Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) members alleged involvement in kidnapping.
"Naa koy reklamo nga nadawat nga nag-shopping daw ni siya sa one of the malls here sa dakbayan unya gibutangan siya ug kinawat nga butang sa iyang bag, unya natingala siya kay gi-apprehend dayon siya sa pulis gipangayoan ug P50,000 kay mao daw modus sa mall, unya gipriso siya (I received a complaint that this person shopped at one of the malls here in the city where a stolen item was placed in his bag, and he was shocked when the police apprehended him right away and was asked to pay P50,000 because it is the mall’s modus)," Goking said.
Goking said the victim, whom he declined to name, paid the policeman P50,000 but was still made to spend days in jail.
He said he has already identified the policeman who will be summoned at the City Council committee hearing along with the management of the mall, to clarify the said issue.
Goking had called on all policemen in the city to be replaced following the October 23 alleged kidnapping of Enrique "Eking" Fernandez III by five Cocpo policemen.
The five policemen were identified as Senior Inspector Ereneo Ramirez, chief of the Crime against Person and Property Desk and his subordinates, Police Officer 3 Alejandro Ubanan, Senior Police Officer 2 Jojo Lim, Senior Police Officer 1 Alaindelon Tacubao, and Police Officer 2 Sangkula Hussein, who are now detained at the Lumbia City Jail.
Fernandez has remained missing.
"In due time, manggawas ni tanan reklamo ana sa proper gyud nga venue. Maayo ning manggawas ni tanan kay daghan raba maayo baya nga pulis (All complaints have come out in the proper venue. It’s good that all of these are out because there are good policemen)," Goking said.
Oro Chamber of Commerce & Industry Foundation, Inc. president Jeffrey Ang, however, said the police have so far done their part in dealing with policemen involved in the alleged kidnapping incident.
Ang said businessmen had indeed expressed their dismay following the incident but they are also relieved that the five accused policemen had been arrested.
"Dili nato malikayan nga ma-worrry mi, pero ang mo-matter sa amo karon is nadakpan nila because ang crime is always there ang problema kung walay modakop, so malipayon ta nga ilang gi-aksyonan at least sa ilang action, gipakita nila nga dili sila sa bias (We can’t help but worry although what matters to us now is them being arrested because crime is always there. The problem is when no one arrests them. We are happy that they made an action and they showed that they aren’t biased)," Ang said.
Ang said Goking's suggestion to replace all policemen is not the best option especially now that Christmas season is fast-approaching.
Ang, whose term as Oro Chamber president will end this December, said the business community has had good relations with the city police force under the leadership of Cocpo chief Senior Superintendent Ronnie Francis Cariaga who reached out to them especially through safety and security seminars for business establishments.
"Dili pud siguro maayo nga pulihan tanan, kay naay tendency nga ang mga mupuli wala kasuhito sa lugar, mubalik sila sa uno. Para sa atong police director, we should also give him a chance kay sayo pa kaayo siya nga pulihan kay bag-o pa siya nakalingkod, dako na pud ang kabag-ohan, paingon na raba ang December basin ma-risk ang peace and order sa dakbayan (Maybe it’s not good to replace all of them because there are tendencies where the replacements don’t know much about the place, making them start from scratch. We should give him (Cariaga) a chance because he has just taken his seat, there are many changes. It’s almost December, the peace and order in the city might be put at risk)," he said.
"We also recognize nga nakadaog sila sa (they won) most number of drug operations so they are doing their job. Kung peaceful ang siyudad, we can expect more investors, dako kaayo ang role sa pulisya (the police have a big role) in terms of investments," Ang said.
Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Mardy Hortillosa II, Police Regional Office (PRO)-Northern Mindanao deputy spokesperson, said many policemen at the Cocpo remain loyal to their call as law enforcers.
Hortillosa said Cocpo has a police strength of 1,032 and many of them are manning checkpoints without extorting money and conducting truthful intelligence gathering and impartial investigations.
"Daghan pa gihapon police sa Cocpo ang gahimo sa trabaho nila nga insakto ikumpara nimo sa 5 ka police nga napriso karon kay kung mas daghan ang gabinuang napuno na unta og reklamo karon ang Cocpo (Many policemen in Cocpo do their jobs well compared to the five arrested policemen. If they aren’t doing their jobs well, Cocpo would have been full of complaints)," Hortillosa said.
The Cocpo topped the most number of arrested illegal drug suspects in the entire region, which Hortillosa described as in indication that the Cocpo has been doing well in the administration's war on drugs.
But Hortillosa admitted that some members of the PNP organization have gone rogue and now engage in illegal and unlawful activities for their personal interest.
"Kanang mga police nga gahimo og daotan kabalo na sila motago sa ilang binuhatan busa imporante nga duna gyud ebidensya (Those policemen who doing wrong things leave no traces so evidence is important)," Hortillosa added.
Hortillosa said the public can help rehabilitate the ranks of the PNP by reporting rogue policemen to the proper authorities. (With a report from Alwen Saliring)
