By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan | Philippine News Agency
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Wednesday assured the public that there would be no sacred cows in the ongoing investigation into the case of missing “sabungeros.”
“No sacred cows. Kahit mayor, kahit governor, kahit senator, basta kasama sila doon sa Alpha group na yan, anyone involved with the Alpha group will be charged kung tama ang case build-up,” said Remulla during his tour of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Command Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
“Si Totoy ay nagbigay na ng listahan. It’s under verification now. More or less, alam na ng DOJ kung sino yung Alpha group, but sila na tanungin niyo kung sino iyon,” he added.
National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) Vice Chairperson and Executive Officer Rafael Calinisan said they had sent out summons to the 12 active-duty police officers implicated by Patidongan in his complaint-affidavit to the agency, giving them five days to respond.
“Our Inspection Monitoring and Investigation Service (IMIS) served the Summons on Tuesday to 12 active police officers implicated by Totoy. They are given five days to submit their counter-affidavits. Failure to do so constitutes a waiver of their rights to submit the same. The complaint will then be evaluated whether or not it would proceed to a formal charge,” said Calinisan.
Calinisan said the 12 police officers may face administrative charges for grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.
Calinisan said the NAPOLCOM would release its decision on the matter in 60 days.
The 12 officers were among the 15 police personnel held under restrictive custody, as confirmed by PNP Chief PGEN. Nicolas Torre III last July 7.
“Yes, 15 are accounted for, all in all. Three were non-active personnel. 15 were suspected members of a private armed group involved in the disappearance of the sabungeros. The 12 all accounted for and active cops,” said Remulla.
The PNP-Forensic Group (FG) on Tuesday said six out of the 91 bones retrieved from the Taal Lake could possibly have come from a human.
“It brings us closer to the conclusion of the story. Everything that Alias Totoy had said ties up now, if the bones were found,” said Remulla when asked for a comment.
“May video tayo ng abduction… Ngayon, kung mahanap yung katawan, then it all ties up that it is a conspiracy, grand conspiracy amongst all of them,” the Interior secretary added.
The search for the abducted sabungeros was prompted by the revelation by Patidongan last June that the individuals were killed, tied to sandbags, and thrown into the Taal Lake.
The relatives of the missing cockfighting enthusiasts earlier joined Patidongan in lodging complaints against the police officers.
The complaint is administrative, which means the penalty could either be suspension or removal from police service, depending on NAPOLCOM’s sanctions.
He also linked the police officers to the bloody war on drugs of the previous administration.
