Napolcom-6 charges 10 CIDG personnel over Pavia ops

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The National Police Commission in Western Visayas has administratively charged 10 personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group over “legitimate police operations” that were initially mistaken for an alleged double kidnapping case in Pavia, Iloilo.

Atty. Michelle Benitez-Yotoko, Napolcom-6 spokesperson, confirmed that the “10 CIDG – Iloilo Field Unit personnel were charged of Grave Misconduct as probable cause was found that they committed grave irregularities in the conduct of their police operation.”

Two of the accused are police commissioned officers, while eight are police noncommissioned officers.

“Their administrative case is now undergoing summary dismissal proceedings and the respondents CIDG personnel were directed to submit their answer before the Summary Hearing Officer,” she said.

Yotoko said Napolcom-6 started its motu proprio investigation on Feb. 24, 2026, a day after the incident happened.

The following month, the CIDG personnel were called for a precharge investigation.

By April, the case was officially filed.

“We filed the case on the basis that upon monitoring of the incident, there appears to be regularities and anomalies in the conduct of operation,” she said.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Yotoko said Napolcom-6 could render a recommendation within 16 to 20 working days.

The controversial CIDG operations happened on Feb. 23, 2026, in Pavia, Iloilo.

Territorial police were apparently not informed about the operations even hours after they happened.

Records from the Iloilo Police Provincial Office showed two alleged abduction incidents that both happened in Pavia town.

Both cases pointed to a red or maroon sedan, where alleged suspects dragged their “victims” inside.

More than 12 hours after the incidents, the public was told that things were not what they seemed.

The CIDG later admitted that it was behind the two incidents, which it claimed were legitimate operations against illegal firearm sales.

Still, it appeared that CIDG-Iloilo did not inform the Pavia Municipal Police Station or the Iloilo Police Provincial Office about the operation.

The matter was made public after information was leaked that one of those “abducted” was in CIDG custody.

The incident started when the Pavia police received a report about a male cyclist, identified only as 45-year-old Mark, who was allegedly shot along Barangay Cabugao Sur, Pavia, at around 6:25 p.m. on Feb. 23.

A security guard detailed at a nearby establishment claimed to have heard gunfire.

Upon verification, the guard said he saw two men aboard a red or maroon vehicle trying to subdue a man and force him to go with them.

The security guard then heard someone shouting “tabang” or help several times.

When he checked, he saw the men dragging the cyclist inside the vehicle, which immediately sped off toward Iloilo City.

Local police even requested the Scene of the Crime Operations team to process the crime scene and properly handle evidence.

Five minutes later, another case of alleged abduction was reported near a convenience store at Purok III, Pavia.

The incident was reported to police at 9 p.m.

As earlier reported, three men aboard a red or maroon sedan forcibly dragged Steph into the vehicle.

The vehicle then sped off toward Barangay Aganan, Pavia.

When several bystanders tried to intervene, the three men claimed that they were members of the Philippine National Police.

This prompted witnesses to back off.

Steph’s mother also went to the police station to ask what happened to her daughter.

Citing witnesses’ statements, her mother claimed that her daughter was made to lie on her stomach while someone positioned himself on her back.

Steph was then made to recline on her back before she was dragged into the vehicle.

Capt. Ritz Field Presquito, Pavia police chief, said they conducted a hot pursuit operation to look for the two “victims.”

The operation went on until around 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, when Steph appeared at the police station “to clarify what happened.”

She told Presquito that what happened to her was a case of a “lover’s quarrel.”

Steph claimed that her “ex-boyfriend” had been forcing her to reconcile with him.

She even jokingly told Presquito, “gusto n’ya na makipagbalikan sa akon kay nabal-an n’ya nga nag glow up na ko.”

Steph told police that her ex-boyfriend released her at around 11 p.m. on the same day.

When asked why she did not immediately report the incident to police, she claimed that she was too tired and wanted to rest.

On top of that, she claimed that she did not want to pursue any criminal case against him.

As questions hounded what happened to Mark, the CIDG-Iloilo Provincial Field Unit finally released a statement late in the morning of Feb. 24.

The CIDG admitted that Mark was in its custody.

The CIDG claimed that its personnel took Mark following a police entrapment operation in Cabugao Sur.

The operation against Mark was done simultaneously with the operation involving Steph as part of CIDG’s “Paglalansag Omega” campaign for alleged violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

Republic Act 10591 regulates the ownership, possession, carrying, manufacture, dealing, and importation of firearms, ammunition, and parts, while Napolcom rules allow summary dismissal proceedings against police personnel in administrative cases.

In its report, the CIDG stated that the operation against Mark was conducted at around 7:30 p.m. that Monday.

The CIDG report said Mark was arrested after he allegedly sold a caliber .38 revolver for PHP 3,500.

Citing personnel security, CIDG claimed that the inventory was done at the CIDG-IPFU office in La Paz, Iloilo City.

However, there were reports that the inventory was done in a village in Pavia.

The CIDG claimed that the operation was also witnessed by a barangay kagawad and a barangay tanod of Aganan, Pavia.

However, the kagawad was reportedly not a resident of Aganan but of another village.

Worse, he denied any knowledge of or signing any document related to the operation.

On the other hand, Steph was released after no firearm was taken from her possession.

When asked if coordination was done between the CIDG and local police, the CIDG answered in the affirmative.

The CIDG maintained that its provincial director, Lt. Col. Erwin Cordano, coordinated with the Pavia police chief.

But when asked why the Pavia police still conducted a hot pursuit operation if they knew it was part of CIDG’s Oplan Paglalansag, no clear answer was given.