Cop, Mayor Tom file charges against each other at Ombudsman

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña confronts Patrolman Romil Gelogo outside the Cebu City Police Office headquarters in at dawn on May 12. /Photo from Osmeña’s FB page

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The patrolman, whose motorcycle was impounded by outgoing Mayor Tomas Osmeña outside Camp Sotero Cabahug in Cebu City for violating traffic rules, filed criminal and administrative charges against Osmeña to the Office of the Ombudsman with the help of the Crime Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7).

Patrolman Romil Gelogo, who hails from Negros Occidental, was caught by Mayor Osmeña leaving the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) headquarters on the dawn of May 12 wearing shorts and slippers, a violation of the traffic rules of Cebu City.

Read more: Cop accuses Tomas of carnapping , stealing expensive watch

Osmeña, who stayed outside the camp hoping to see the Sangguniang Kabataan officials who were detained for alleged vote buying, apprehended Gelogo and asked for his driver’s license and certificate of registration (COR).

Read more: 2 Cogon Ramos SK councilors, 2 others jailed for ‘vote buying’

Gelogo failed to show these documents to the mayor prompting Osmeña to impound the motorcycle with the help of the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO).

On Wednesday afternoon, May 22, at 3 pm, Gelogo with the CIDG filed the case at the of Office of the Ombudsman with 10 charges against the outgoing mayor.

Criminal charges of usurpation of official function, carnapping, graft and corruption, robbery, slander, grave coercion, and direct assault were filed against Osmeña.

Administrative cases were also filed including for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, oppression, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in aggravating circumstance.

In his affidavit, Gelogo claimed that the mayor harassed him during the apprehension and did not even issue a citation ticket for his alleged traffic violations.

Read more: CCTO chief: No carnapping happened, cop was given traffic citation

He argued that the mayor’s impoundment of his vehicle was a form of carnapping because the impounding CCTO officer was not deputized by the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7).

Meanwhile, Mayor Osmeña also filed a case against Gelogo just five days ago, on May 17.

In a document furnished to the media on Thursday, May 23, Osmeña filed charges of disobedience to authorities and misconduct against Gelogo for his actions during the apprehension.

In previous statements, Osmeña argued that as mayor of Cebu City, he had been given the authority by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) over the police and the refusal of Gelogo to show his license and COR is a form of disobedience.

Furthermore, the improper attire of Gelogo, his motorcycle lacking side mirrors,  and the fact that he was not bringing the required documents while travelling would render him committing a misconduct for a police officer.

“By law, the mayor is granted police authority and is in fact in command of the police. Why did this policeman refuse to comply when asked for his license, registration, and police ID, and, moreover, why did he retreat back into the camp after I asked him if he was evading and not complying?” said Osmeña on his Facebook post. /dbs