Policeman mistakenly identified as "extortionist"

CEBU, Philippines - The policeman who was accused of soliciting money from a dried fish vendor was mistakenly identified by the complainant.

Atty. Julius Ompad, legal counsel of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, said Loreto Sanchez, the complainant, was referring to a different policeman and not Minglanilla police investigator, SPO1 Renato Masangcay.

Ompad explained that Masangcay was one of the policemen who were at the scene when the incident happened but he was not the one who asked for money from the 50-year-old Sanchez, who is from Barangay Calajo-an.

Sanchez said it was only Masangcay whom he identified and that there were three cops at that time.

“Iya pa ganing gi-insist nga Magsangcay instead of Masangcay kay mao iyang pagtuo, (He even insisted on Magsangcay instead of Masangcay.)” Ompad told The FREEMAN in a phone interview.

According to Ompad, Sanchez does not want to file charges against the cop but wanted a P5,000 refund for his vehicle, which hit the patrol car when it was confiscated by another policeman.

In order to clear things out, Ompad requested both parties to appear before the Provincial Investigation Detection and Management Branch on May 4.

Ompad said the presence of Masangcay would be a big help to identify the real culprit as well as to clear the accused cop’s name.

“Ato gyud ning klaruhon kay ang name ra ba sa affidavit Masangcay unya dili diay kuno siya pero diha lang siya atong higayuna, (We will clarify this because the name in the affidavit was Masangcay but it allegedly was not him although he was there when it happened.)” Ompad said.

Last Friday, Sanchez went to the PIDMB to file his complaint against the Minglanilla policeman who allegedly asked him P2,000 in exchange for his vehicle with a sidecar modified into a pen used in carrying livestock or locally known as “tangkal-tangkal”.

The said motorcycle was confiscated by the police last April 15 at the public market in Barangay Poblacion, Minglanilla because it allegedly was improperly parked.

Sanchez insisted there was not even a “No Parking” signage in the area and there were other motorcycles in the area which were not confiscated.

He added that the police also asked him to surrender his driver’s license but when Sanchez went to the police station to claim his motorcycle, the policeman demanded P2,000. Since he only had P500, the policemen agreed.

 Sanchez added that the policeman did not even bother to issue a receipt.

Masangcay earlier said he will face any investigation and promised to cooperate with the PIDMB to clear his side. — (FREEMAN)