AT LEAST two individuals have come out to claim that they, too, were allegedly victimized by the five police officers accused in the October 23 kidnapping of Enrique Fernandez III in Upper Balulang, Cagayan de Oro City.
Felixberto Gonzales, who identified himself as a consultant at the Mindanao Trucking Corporation in Gusa village, narrated how the police officers allegedly framed him up and later demanding money in exchange for his freedom.
Gonzales narrated how eight of the drivers of the said company were arrested by Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Jojo Lim, PO2 Sangkula Hussein and PO3 Alejandro Ubanan for supposed theft.
The three police officers are among the five former members of the Crime Against Person and Property Desk (CAPPD) of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) who were arrested November 15 for alleged kidnapping and carnapping.
"Didto man ko sa Iligan pagdakop nila pero ang report sa ako, gidakop daw sila kay giingon nga nangawat sila ug krudo pero dili man to kinawat, tiniti to nila (I was in Iligan when they were apprehended for allegedly stealing crude oil when in fact, it was used)," Gonzales said.
"Pag-abot nako sa Mindanao trucking, nag-investigate ko, frame-up diay to siya, dili diay amoa ang drum nga naay sulod gasolina, sa pulis diay to (When I reached Mindanao trucking, I checked and found out it was a frame-up. The drum that held gasoline inside wasn't ours but theirs [police]," he said.
When he got home dawn of August 18, Gonzales said his driver told him that armed men were looking for him.
"At first I thought, mga taga-bukid sila kay naka-civilian man gud. Nag-ilis dayon ko ug niadto sa Agora kay muadto sa pulis, pero pagnaog nako sa pick-up truck, gipusasan dayon ko ni Ubanan (They were from the mountains because they wore civilian attire. I changed clothes immediately then went to Agora to go to the police, but when I got off the pick-up truck, Ubanan handcuffed me)," he said.
The police officers then demanded P100,000 as settlement so that Gonzales will not be charged nor brought to jail.
Gonzalez said he was also told by the policemen not to call his lawyer, assuring him that he will not be sent to jail if he pays the said amount.
On August 19, Gonzalez said he went to Maharlika headquarters, inside the CAPPD office, to hand over the money demanded from him.
"Ang nangayo si Hussein, ang pirmero unta to P50,000 pero ingon siya nga gamay ra daw, nireklamo pa gayud si Jojo Lim kay dugay kuno mi makahatag ug kwarta, pero nagbayad man mi, napriso gihapon mi ug 4 ka adlaw diha sa Maharlika ug 1 ka adlaw didto sa Lumbia City Jail (Hussein asked for the money. At first it was P50,000 but he said it was not enough. Jojo Lim even complained for the delay in giving the money but we paid for it. We were still detained for four days in Maharlika and a day in Lumbia City Jail)," he said.
Gonzalez said the policemen still brought charges against himself and the drivers, with the most recent hearing just concluded Thursday.
"Naka-bond man nuon mi pero among gikasakit nga nganung napriso mi nga naghatag man mi (We gave a bond but what really hurts us is why we were still detained)," he said.
Gonzales, along with the eight drivers, went to NBI and positively identified the suspects.
"Nag-advise ang NBI nga mag-consult mi sa among mga abogado kung maghatag ba mi sa among affidavit (NBI advised us to consult our lawyers if we will give our affidavits)," he added.
Meanwhile, a woman who requested not to be revealed was quoted in a radio interview saying that in July, a group of police officers stormed into their house at 2 a.m. for a supposed drug bust.
The woman said the police officers were drunk and held her two male children at gunpoint.
The woman identified the policemen as Ramirez and Lim and said the two were with two others whom she believed were police assets.
"Nabuntagan nalang sila ug ukay-ukay sa among balay, nahayagan na sila wala gyud silay nakita, nanghilak akong mga anak, pero kita gyud ko ni Lim nga nagkuot siya sa iyang likod sa karsones ug usa ka sachet sa shabu, akong gikompronta, pero nituloy lang gihapon siya, gitampaling pa gane niya akong apo nga grade 4 sa ulo kay naghilak man (It took them awhile to search but found nothing. My sons were crying, but I saw Lim take out a sachet of shabu from the back pocket of his jeans. I was about to confront him but he went on. He even hit my grandson on the head because he was crying)," she said.
She said the policemen arrested her two children and brought to the Maharlika headquarters, adding that it was Lim who called and texted her to ask for P30,000.
"Gi-text dayon ko ni Lim nga dugay kuno kaayo ang P30,000, kung wala daw iduot daw kuno nila akong anak. Pero dili man gyud mi kwartahan so P18,000 ra akong nahatag, so 'drug user' lang ilang gibutang sa akong mga anak (Lim said the P30,000 was taking too long. If I can't give it to him, he will kill my sons. But I'm not rich so I only gave P18,000 so they put my sons [under their list] as "drug user")," she added.
Her children spent two months in jail and were later able to post bail at P45,000.
The woman said she believes that the supposed operation was conducted for personal reasons as her son's girlfriend was connected to one of the police officers.
"Sure gayud ko nga daghan pa na silay biktima kay sa didto na sa prisohan, daghay nagsubay nga si Ramirez ang nagdakop sa ila, nagkatapok-tapok na ang mga ginikanan ba unya nanghilak (I'm sure they victimized a lot. Many prisoners said Ramirez arrested them. Parents were crying)," she said.
"Depende ba kung magpasaka ba mi ug complaint ani kay pobre raman gud mi unya dako baya ng gasto sa kaso na (It depends if we'll file a complaint because we're poor and we'd spend a lot for that case)," she added.
