BPO agent accuses cop of harassment

A rookie policeman is facing investigation  for allegedly harassing a call center agent over a Facebook post about him.

P01 Juanito Libres Jr., of Casuntingan Police Station in Mandaue City, was allegedly  drunk when he went to the boarding house of June Nadine Paradero in the barangay.

Paradero said  she was inside  when the policeman suddenly  stoned the house.

When  she stepped outside to check, Libres allegedly choked her and expressed anger  over a  Facebook post which the policeman believed was about him.

Libres’ girlfriend earlier read the post, which triggered a lovers’ quarrel.

Paradero went to the Police Regional Office (PRO-7), to file a complaint for misconduct.

Both parties went to the  Investigation and Detection  Management Branch (IDMB) of the Mandaue City Police Office to settle the matter but the woman was determined to pursue a formal complaint.

Supt. Michael Anthony Bastes, chief of the IDMB, said there was no witness to prove the harassment took place.

PO1  Libres, in a phone interview, also said the accusation against him was fabricated.

After last Monday’s incident, Paradero said she went to the Casuntingan Police Station to have the incident recorded in the station’s  blotter but she was told to report it to the barangay.

She also went to the Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) of the Mandaue police and was referred to the IDMB.

Unsatisfied with the manner the Mandaue police handled her grievance, the woman  decided to go to the PRO-7 headquarters to file a  complaint against Libres

Supt. Henry Binas, head of the  Regional Investigation and Detective Management Branch (RIDMB), said he will conduct a pre-charge investigation.

If there is enough basis to proceed with a full-scale investigation, Libres may face  summary dismissal proceedings, he said.