Minglanilla cops facing probe for ‘Tokhang arrests’
MINGLANILLA police officers will be investigated after a complaint will be filed by a director of a national government office accusing them of forcing people arrested in an anti-illegal gambling raid to sign a paper claiming they were drug surrenderers in an alleged Oplan Tokhang operation last December 25.
Director Roger de Dios of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) 13 went to the office of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) deputy regional director for operations Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas to verbally complain against the Minglanilla police officers.
De Dios said that the police officers raided an illegal cockfight in Barangay Upper Lina where his son, Revo, was among the 80 people arrested.
“My son called me saying there was a raid and he was among those arrested. He was only selling softdrinks in the area. I told him over the phone not to let the police arrest him since he is not involved in the cockfight, but they still arrested him,” De Dios said in Cebuano.
De Dios claimed that the police officers allegedly confiscated large amounts of money from those they arrested in the cockfight, including vendors and people at the scene of the cockfight, and even the fighting cocks.
He claimed that the 80 people arrested were brought to the police station where they were allegedly forced to sign a blank paper allegedly for the police station’s Tokhang operations.
“It’s not right to force them to sign as surrenderers. If they want to file a case, then by all means file a case of illegal gambling,” De Dios said in Cebuano.
Lawas said he would order the investigation of the police officers especially since a complaint had been filed.
“I was surprised by what Director De Dios told me. We cannot justify our goal as a police officer if we will do it in the wrong way,” Lawas said in Cebuano.
He said that if they would formally file a complaint then they would immediately conduct an investigation.
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