PRO-7 chief focuses on internal cleansing amid probe of 11 Cebu City cops

Police Brigadier General Ronnie S Montejo, Police Regional Office-7 (PRO-7) director | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — “We are focusing on internal cleansing among the ranks of our policemen while investigation of 11 Cebu City policemen are ongoing.” 

Police Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director, said this after 11 Cebu City policemen of the Sawang Calero Police Station were accused of rape, robbery and extortion by a woman-witness, who was later shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants.

READ: CCPO eyes drugs, love triangle in Nepomuceno’s killing

Montejo said internal cleansing not only included counter intelligence interventions but also values formation programs for the enhancement of spiritual and moral aspects of our personnel.

On counter intelligence interventions, he said that this were also part of the internal cleansing process.

“Duna pod tay counter intelligence interventions para mahibaw an nato ug kinsa ning mga kapulisan nato nga mihimo ug dili maayo. Atong i document/case build up/for operations & file appropriate charges administratively and criminally in court,” he said.

(We also have counter intelligence interventions so that we can find out who among our policemen are doing something bad. We will document them/case buildup/for operations and file appropriate charges administratively and criminally in court.)

Aside from that, he said that there would also be trainings and seminars for those who could still be reformed.

“Kini tanan nga activities part ni sa atong program nga preventive, restorative and punitive,” he said.

(All these activities are part of our program which is preventive, restorartive and punitive.)

READ: Policeman Colita’s medical check-up valid reason to leave camp – CCPO chief

Meanwhile, Montejo said he would not comment on the issue regarding the report that Police Staff Sergeant Celso Colita was out of Camp Sergio Osmeña for a medical checkup on the day that the witness, who filed a case of rape and robbery against him and 10 others, was also gunned down in Cebu City.

Colita later shot himself inside a toilet in the camp, a few hours after the witness, Ritchie Nepomuceno was killed by unidentified assailants on April 19.

Investigators later said that there was no foul play in Colita’s death.

Nepomuceno has earlier filed a rape, robbery and extortion case against Colita.

She also filed robbery, extortion cases against 10 other Sawang Calero policemen. The involved policemen were all relieved from their posts and restricted to camp while the investigation and case against them were ongoing.

Montejo said that he would not comment on that because the investigation was still ongoing. 

He said he would wait for the investigation to be concluded and for the recommendation of the investigators before he would comment on that.

“Gihuwat pa nako ang ilang kompleto nga investigation. Ako usa’ng ipunon ang tanan unya tan-awon nako. Unya unsay ilang recommendation or unsay mugawas sa ilang investigation diha ako ipaabot sa inyoha,” said the PRO-7 director.

(I am still waiting for the complete results of the investigation. I will gather them and look at them — what their recommendation or what will come out in the investigation — and that will be the ones that I will give to you.)

He, however, said that he had already directed the Regional Internal Affairs Service to investigate Colita’s side while the Criminal Intelligence Division Group (CIDG) would focus on the criminal aspect.

/dbs

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