Negros cops told not to get involved in politics

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Personnel of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) here were reminded not to get involved in any political affairs.

This, after six policemen, including a retired cop, were dismissed by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) from the police service last week over the alleged harassment against a government official and her husband in Moises Padilla town in December 2017.

In fact, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año warned policemen over the weekend to stay away from politics following the said incident.

Police Captain Allan Reloj, town police chief at that time, Police Master Sergeant Ricardo Dingcong Jr., Police Corporal Nobel Perante, Police Corporal Felix Pesales Jr., Patrolman Michael Mondido, and Patrolman Darryl Dormido were found by Napolcom “culpable for grave misconduct and grave irregularities in the performance of duty,” when they arrested in a checkpoint then Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo and her husband, Felix Yulo III, for alleged illegal possession of firearms, drugs, and explosives in the town three years ago.

The case of these six policemen stemmed from a checkpoint operation conducted at Barangay Crossing Magallon on December 19, 2017, where the Yulo couple on board a pickup truck was flagged down.

The couple was jailed for seven months, despite the vice mayor insisting that the two hand grenades, two .45 caliber pistols and ammunition, and two plastic sachets containing suspected shabu recovered from them were “planted,” and that they were harassed by the police at the checkpoint.

The claims were refuted by the town policemen led by Reloj at that time, saying that they flagged down the couple’s vehicle due to “suspicious actuation.”

Police Lieutenant Abegael Donasco, Nocppo’s information officer, stressed that it should serve as lesson to other policemen to never go beyond their duties which is to serve and protect.

“Don’t let personal and professional things be mixed because that would be the worst case that they may receive,” Donasco said.

Donasco earlier said that these policemen, four of whom are still rendering their duties, can file their Motion for Reconsideration within 15 days after they receive the dismissal order.

However, Donasco said that the Nocppo and the aforementioned cops have yet to receive a copy of the order.