A Cebu City cop that stands accused of robbing four people in Mandaue City. Another Cebu City police officer killed by a barangay official’s bodyguard after the cop allegedly tried to ambush said official in Barangay Tejero.
Yet another cop killed and three others arrested for allegedly trying to extort P200,000 from a couple, this time in Taguig City. And all these incidents happened as PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde warned that a cleansing of their ranks would be equally “chilling and deadly” as the war on drugs.
Based on the three mentioned cases, we hope Albayalde is true to his word on cleansing the PNP ranks minus all that blood and violence since there is more than enough blood being spilled in the streets.
The death of PO3 Eugene Calumba at the hands of William Macaslang Jr., bodyguard of Barangay Tejero Councilman Jessielou Cadungog, alone leaves much to be answered.
In Calumba’s case, new evidence by the police surfaced concerning Cadungog’s supposed inclusion in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drugs watchlist in order to bolster the police’s charges against the barangay councilman and Macaslang.
But what about the bar code found on Calumba’s wrist — the same bar code found in the wrists of anti-crime volunteer Michael Banua, who drove the motorcycle Calumba rode on during that fateful “surveillance” at 8 a.m. last Monday?
These and details such as Calumba and Banua wearing handkerchiefs over their mouths to prevent identification cast strong suspicions on Calumba’s intentions in the incident regardless of whatever medals and accolades he may have received while assigned in an anti-drug section of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
But the case of PO1 Argel Fuentes of the Cebu City police who stands accused of involvement in seven robbery incidents in Subangdaku, Mandaue City and the death of PO1 Gerardo Ancheta as well as the arrest of PO2 Joey Maru, PO1 Paolo Ocampo and PO1 Bryan Amir Bajoof who were accused of being part of a kidnap-for-ransom gang in Taguig City, are pretty much cut and dried.
It is these “badlungon” (hardheaded) cops who are already engaged in criminal activities that Albayalde vowed to crack down on, the cops who are undoubtedly recipients of the substantial wage increase promised by the President in order to encourage them to perform well and stay committed to their job to serve and protect the public.
But what of the cops caught, if any, performing extralegal — dare say, extrajudicial — operations? That’s something Albayalde sadly cannot answer even in his capacity as the country’s top cop.
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