Labella asks Napolcom to investigate Sawang Calero cops, killing of witness

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella in a presscon at the City Hall on April 21, 2021. | Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella is asking the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to investigate the alleged extortion and rape of policemen from Barangay Sawang Calero.

This he said after one of the witnesses, Ritchie Nepomuceno, was killed on April 19, 2021, causing a huge drawback in the investigations conducted by the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas (CHR-7).

Labella said that these seemingly connected incidents should be thoroughly looked into by Napolcom as these cast doubts on the integrity of the police force.

READ: Cebu City dad to victims of police abuse: Do not let ‘incident’ scare you to silence

“Di mahimo nga ang usa ka complainant or reklamante patyon lang just to hide the truth in order to stray the edge of justice. With more reason nga justice should be knitted especially against those responsible. Of course, katong ilang gihimong pagpanulis og pagpangrape, that was something very serious,” said the mayor.

The mayor said that when Nepomuceno was killed, the case on the Sawang Calero 11 worsened, as one of the most viable motives of her death was her being an alleged victim to them.

READ: CHR-7 probe into Sawang Calero controversy ‘on the rocks’

One of the Sawang Calero 11, Police Staff Sergeant Celso Colita, shot himself four hours after Nepomuceno’s death further drawing attention to the case.

“We urge the Napolcom to look into this relentlessly,” said the mayor.

Labella assured the family of Nepomuceno that the city government is willing to help them through financial aid for the burial and legal assistance for them to find justice for her death.

The family is urged to approach the city government to get help for any legal matter that they wish to pursue after Nepomuceno’s brutal killing.

The City Legal Office has also been instructed to conduct a separate inquiry on the incident so as to find out what truly transpired in Sawang Calero and the deaths of two involved parties in the case.

Despite the incidents, Mayor Labella still put his faith on the police force saying that most policemen remain true to their service.

“There are still good cops. This is an isolated case. It does not mean nga kaning nahitabo sa Sawang Calero is reflective of the kind of policemen that we have in the city. I still believe that we have good, dedicated policemen,” he said.

/bmjo