Humiliating and degrading.
This was how a group of friends and relatives described a roadside confrontation with operatives of Dumaguete City’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG).
Jimmy Marababol, 53, told police that he and nine other companions riding two separate vehicles were headed to Sumilon Island for a one-day outing when the incident happened past 9 a.m. Saturday.
Marababol, a resident of sitio Banawa, barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City, said they noticed that a Mitsubishi Pajero was tailing their convoy.
Marababol said when they decided to stop, the Pajero also stopped a few meters from them.
Marababol’s group continued driving until the Pajero overtook and blocked their path.
A group of men got out of the Pajero and approached Marababol and his companions.
Marababol said the men introduced themselves as policemen but didn’t specify from what unit they belonged.
The men later identified themselves as policemen from Dumaguete’s HPG. They were SPO1 Aurelio Budo, Insp. Rubelito Mamano, PO3 Jerome Nochefranca, PO2 Bayani Palico and PO1 Junano Pagandan, said Marababol based on the blotter at the Argao Police Station.
Marababol said they were told that they were stopped because one Blanch Kenneth Llorente was with them.
The policemen claimed they had an arrest warrant against Llorente who faces estafa charges.
Marababol said the policemen insisted that one of their companions, Mikaela Zamora, was the same Llorente they were looking for.
Zamora presented and ID and a passport to prove that she was not the person that the policemen were trying to arrest.
Marababol said they asked for a copy of the arrest warrant but the policemen only showed them a photo of the document saved in a cell phone.
When the policemen left, Marababol’s group went to the Argao Police Station to report the incident.
The trip to Sumilon was also canceled after the blood pressure of one of Marababol’s companions shot up.
“What they did was degrading most especially humiliating,” said Marababol in the police blotter.
PO3 Benjamin Geyrozaga, desk officer of Argao police, said Marababol’s secured a copy of the blotter for possible filing of charges against the policemen.