Cop in resto-bar brawl under probe

By: Jennifer P. Rendon

ANOTHER policeman will be investigated for his presence inside a restaurant-bar in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan, Western Visayas police chief, said the likes of Police Patrolman Friday Jess Navigar should not be emulated.

“That’s why we need to go hard against this kind of policeman,” he said.

Pamuspusan said he wants Navigar to report to the Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 headquarters after learning of his involvement in a brawl on Aug 7, 2019.

But the neophyte policeman is still confined in the hospital.

Navigar’s case was the third since Pamuspusan assumed the PRO-6 helm in June 2019.

The first case involved three cops who acted unruly and allegedly declined to pay their bill at Club 88 Disco Pub & Restaurant, a nightclub along J.M. Basa St., City Proper, Iloilo City, on June 26.

On July 18, two policemen were also caught drinking inside the Pototan Police Station.

While three cases stemmed from the policemen’s alleged drinking sprees, Navigar’s case is similar to that of the three cops in the Club 88 sortie.

He faces charges for violating the PNP’s internal directive banning policemen from bars and nightclubs.

On January 9, 2019 PNP chief General Oscar Albayalde reiterated to policemen that they are off limits to said establishments.

The order reads, “upon instructions of President Rodrigo R Duterte, thru DILG Secretary Eduardo M Año, PNP Chief, Director General Oscar D Albayalde reiterated anew existing rules and regulations prohibiting police personnel from bars, nightclubs and similar public drinking places and establishments.”

Further, “Albayalde specifically declared nightclubs, beer gardens, karaoke bars, and pubs, as strictly off limits to all PNP personnel, including establishments of ill-repute, illegal gambling dens and other places devoted to vices.”

Albayalde said violation of the order is tantamount to grave misconduct, punishable by dismissal from the service.

Further, such act shall also be in violation of the PNP Ethical Doctrine and the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards.

Under Section 3.1 of the PNP Ethical Doctrine, “PNP members shall adhere to high standards of morality and decency and shall set good examples for others to follow. In no instance during their terms of office, among other things, shall they be involved as owners, operators, managers or investors in any house of ill-repute or illegal gambling den or other places devoted to vices, nor they shall patronize such places unless on official duty, and tolerate operations of such establishments in their respective areas of responsibilities.”

ONE TOO MANY

Pamuspusan said while there are only a small percentage of policemen involved in such acts, he could not dismiss it as an isolated case.

“When it comes to the PNP, a policeman violating the policy is one too many,” he said.

Pamuspusan said they already issued several warnings but some policemen simply refused to comply.

“They don’t understand the intent of the order of the President,” he said.

Pamuspusan said some policemen might lack appreciation and knowledge of the existing PNP rules and regulations.

“We need to prevent these incidents and know how to guide them,” he said.

Navigar, 28, of Poblacion B, Dueñas, Iloilo, was wounded after a group of customers took turns in hitting him 12:45 a.m. of August 7.

The victim, who is currently assigned at the PNP Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU) at Camp Delgado, Iloilo City, said he took his dinner at Paho Resto-Bar located at Paseo de Arcangeles in Barangay Bolilao when the incident happened.

Police Major Marlon Valencia, Mandurriao police chief, said the incident also injured one of the suspects after Navigar’s gun went off during a grapple.

Pablo Sido, Jr., 36, sustained a gunshot wound on the lower left portion of his waist.

Another suspect, Danilo Paderes Jr., 42, is now detained while their two companions fled after the incident.

The four suspects even disarmed the cop but responding policemen managed to arrest the two and recovered Navigar’s firearm.