A call for coordination and communication with the police and the local government unit in conducting operations in towns has been made by the mayor of Malabuyoc town, 137 km southwest of Cebu.
Mayor Lito Narciso Creus made this call after their was misunderstanding between the police and the town mayor on the recent buy-bust operation conducted by the members of the Provincial Intelligence Branch of the Cebu Provincial Police Office.
Creus said that the PIB officers made a warrantless arrest against four residents of Barangay Cerdeña during an operation there on Feb. 2.
Creus was referring to an incident where the barangay captain of Cerdena sought the mayor’s help because his brother was allegedly arrested by the police allegedly without any prior validation at all.
“That is unlawful arrest, you cannot do that here,” Creus told one of the PIB operatives then.
Creus claimed that the targets of the PIB operatives were not in the area so the police officers allegedly just arrested these persons.
He said that is why he told them that they arrested the wrong guy.
But Senior Insp.Nazareno Emia said that the Cerdena operation was a legitimate one and it was a joint operation between the PIB and the town police.
Emia also said that it was a buy-bust operation and their targets were Junel Divebar and Gary Redido, both residents of the barangay.
He said they were able to arrest Divebar while Redido managed to escape arrest.
A small sachet of suspected shabu was recovered from Divebar.
He also said as for the four others — they were invited by the police and when found to have nothing to do with the suspects were released.
He also said they were just doing their job in conducting the buy-bust operation and there was no politics involved in it.