CIDG-Bacolod head, cohort post bail

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Police Major Melvin Madrona, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), here and his alleged cohort were released from police custody on Saturday after they posted bail each for robbery extortion and resisting arrest.

This was confirmed yesterday by Police Major Carmelo Nermal, head of Police Station 7, where the two suspects were detained after they were arrested last Friday in a cockpit arena at Barangay Mansilingan for alleged extortion reported by a KTV owner. He was injured when he allegedly resisted arrest from the authorities.

Nermal said Madrona, a native of Romblon, and Simeon Dela Cruz, 40, a cockfighting fowl handler posted a bail of P100,000 each for extortion while the police officer posted another bail of P3,000 for resisting arrest before the City Prosecutor’s Office.

The Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) based in Camp Crame arrested Madrona after receiving a complaint from Ashly Alba, Rosalie Pesquera, and Rizaldy Claver.

Police Colonel Ronald Oliver Lee, acting director of IMEG, in a press release, said that on February 8, CIDG-Bacolod led by Madrona raided a KTV bar at the Goldenfield Commercial Complex in Barangay Singcang-Airport and brought Pesquera, bar workers, and their Japanese clients to their office.

Lee said they were released the following day after they were allegedly forced to agree on the P5,000 weekly protection money in exchange for the unhampered operations of their KTV bars.

Lee said the complainants also reported that Madrona allegedly demanded from them to pay for his travel expenses, hotel accommodation, and food.

But, Madrona when he faced the complainants a few hours later on the day of his apprehension, denied the accusations against him, claiming the complainants are just putting up a scenario.

He said he did not ask for anything and any favor from them.

Meanwhile, Lee also said that Madrona was previously charged for physical injury, arbitrary detention, and grave coercion by an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), after he allegedly mauled the latter when they got involved in a vehicular accident in March 2017. He was then assigned to the Quezon City Police District Station 5.