SPO1 Adonis Dumpit (left) salutes Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas director, during his visit at the PRO 7 headquarters yesterday. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
SPO1 Adonis Dumpit was uneasy when he stepped inside the director’s office of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) past 8 a.m. yesterday.
“Nakuyawan ko basin og dili ko madawat (I’m afraid they won’t accept me),” Dumpit said.
Three days after he was released from detention, the 53-year-old controversial policeman dropped by the PRO 7 headquarters in Cebu City to process some documents before he could officially return to the police service.
Dumpit remains in the official list of Philippine National Police members, despite his conviction for killing a 17-year-old robbery suspect, a decision which he is contesting before the Court of Appeals.
The administrative case filed against him in relation to the case was also dismissed by the National Police Commission, allowing him to return to police service.
Wearing a black shirt and green cargo pants, Dumpit met yesterday with Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, PRO-7 director, and answered questions from reporters.
Comendador said Dumpit had to comply with several requirements first before he could be reinstated in the police service.
“He needs to get the clearances from all our staff and me. And then we will talk where we could possibly assign him,” Comendador told reporters.
He said Dumpit has to be oriented with the new PNP directives and policies before he will be deployed.
“Of course, he can help us a lot. It’s not that other policemen are not doing their job. But Dumpit gives them added encouragement,” Comendador said.
“Dumpit has experienced how it is to stay behind bars. He should have a better approach at life because he viewed the two sides of the coin. I think his experiences will help him improve,” he said.
VISIT MOM
In an interview, Dumpit said he planned to visit his 83-year-old mother Liwayway in Davao Oriental before he will report back to work.
“Nakuyawan og nagduha-duha ko basin dili nako madawat pagkapolis. Mang-apply na lang ko’g driver sa City Hall o mouli sa amo aron mananom,” he said.
(I was scared and anxious that I would not be accepted back in the police service. If that happened, I would just apply as a driver at City Hall or go home in Davao and be a farmer.)
Dumpit said he didn’t expect to receive a warm reception from people after he was released from prison.
“I went to the mall last Sunday, every person I met wanted to have a photograph with me. I told myself, how easy it is to assassinate me,” he said in Cebuano.
MESSAGE
Dumpit said his stint inside the jail exposed him to the realities of life and made him ponder about many things.
He said he wanted to go back to work as a policeman and help maintain peace and order in the community.
His message to criminals was simple.
“They should earn an honest living like us. Eventually, we all return to the Lord because that’s where all of us are heading,” Dumpit said in Cebuano.
Dumpit said he developed a habit of praying the rosary daily while he was in prison.
But asked if he would still shoot criminals, he said: “Kon tuyo-on gyud nila og kutlo ang akong kinabuhi, mosukol na lang sad gyud tingali ko (If they will intentionally kill me, then I’ll be forced to fight back).”
NO FEAR
Is he afraid to go after and even kill criminals after he was sued and convicted in court for the death of a teen robbery suspect?
“Dili nako angay nga mahadlok kay niagi nako og prisohan unom ka tuig. Magpadayon ang akong kawsa kay mao man na ang akong trabaho: to serve and protect,” Dumpit said.
(I’m not afraid to shoot criminals if I need to because I had been imprisoned for six years. I’ll continue my cause because that is my work: to serve and protect the community.)
Although he hasn’t fired a gun for six years, Dumpit said he still has what it takes to be a marksman or sharpshooter because he believes that a man’s skills wouldn’t just disappear and he just needs to practice to bring his shooting skills back.
P50K REWARD
He also appreciates incoming Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s giving of a P50,000 cash reward to any policeman who could kill a criminal.
“It’s not that policemen do their jobs just for the reward. That is just like an incentive or a recognition. Morag ulog-ulog sa police (It’s just like an insincere praise to police officers),” he said.
He also said that he will obey his superiors on where he will be assigned and then complain later.
He also said he doesn’t know personally President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who repeatedly voiced his desire to end criminality in the first six months, and he has no intention to meet him when he goes to Davao.
Dumpit, former bodyguard of incoming Mayor Osmeña, was released on Friday from the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog town, Leyte after the Court of Appeals allowed him to post P250,000 in bail pending resolution of his appeal because he had shown good behavior and had served his minimum prison term of six years.