“Robber” cop actually in jail?

CEBU, Philippines - If documents presented by the Oroquieta City Police are to be believed, the former policeman the Cebu City Police Office is holding responsible for a string of robberies is currently behind bars in Oroquieta City and has been there since September.

After a series of robberies in Cebu City, one man emerged as the suspect of the heists based on the accounts of the witnesses and the victims. This is former policeman Police Officer 3 Eugene Salingay. However, the Misamis Occidental Provincial Reformatory Jail (MOPRJ) in Oroquieta City claims he is still detained there.

Senior Police Officer 4 Euretes Dugso, an intelligence operative of Oroquieta City Police, said he received a call from the City Intelligence Branch of the Cebu City Police Office inquiring if Salingay is still inside MOPRJ.

He said that Thursday afternoon he went to MOPRJ to verify if Salingay is really detained at the jail and found that he has been detained there since September 8 after he was arrested for robbery in Danao City, Cebu, sometime in August.

During that time he was out on bail for a case of theft, said Dugso.

Judge Silverstre Orejana Jr., Presiding Judge of Branch 14 in Oroquieta City, issued an order to the provincial warden of MOPRJ to commit Salingay to prison immediately. The order was received by Provincial Jail Warden Edwardson Tagaoc signed on the same day the order was issued.

Dugso sent The FREEMAN a photograph of BJMP blotter entry 129 showing that Salingay was turned over to MOPRJ at 12:25 p.m. of September 8.

Pictures of Salingay were also sent by Dugso to confirm that he was inside the jail and has not been out since September.

In an interview with Superintendent Alet Virtucio, Cebu City Police Office deputy city director for administration, he said that they are trying to verify if indeed Salingay is still in prison.  He said that the robbery victims pointed to Salingay after pictures of him were shown to them.

Virtucio said that the job now lies with the Crime Scene Investigation Unit to find forensic evidence linking Salingay to the crimes.

He added that if Salingay’s fingerprints are found in the crime scene then they will definitely be filing charges against him.  Salingay has been tagged in a string of robberies in Cebu, including the LBC robberies, and the Western Union robbery in Barangay Guadalupe and the holdup of two convenience stores this week.  — Bryner L. Diaz/BRP (FREEMAN)