Manila police OIC accused of kidnapping Hong Kong drug suspects

MANILA, Philippines - A former police undercover agent described as an “insult” to the Hong Kong people the appointment of Senior Superintendent Francisco Villaroman as acting director of the Manila Police District (MPD), replacing Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay who went on leave following the mishandling of the hostage rescue operation in Rizal Park last Monday.

Mary Ong, alias Rosebud, expressed opposition to the appointment of Villaroman, whom she said has several pending cases filed at the Sandiganbayan, including the alleged kidnapping of two Hong Kong residents who were suspected drug dealers.

“Insult adding to injury to the Hong Kong people. Two Hong Kong families have filed kidnapping charges against Ping Lacson, Acop, and Villaroman, et al,” said Ong, referring to fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson, former Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Acop and Villaroman. “It’s so blatant, if not careless.”

Ong told The STAR that another case was pending in the Sandiganbayan second division, which denied their motion for demurer of evidence, thus Villaroman will have to stand trial.

Villaroman said he and the other accused remain innocent until proven guilty.

“Let justice take its course, it (cases) has been there for eight years and the allegations made have not been proven yet, so we are presumed innocent as the Constitution dictates,” Villaroman said.

“Our demurer was not denied but was postponed for sometime. I was designated officer-in-charge of the MPD to focus on current issues.”

The STAR sought the comment of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa but they did not respond.

Ong, now under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP) as a state witness in several cases, asked President Aquino to ensure their safety.

“I want to appeal to our President Noy to please spare me and the Hong Kong victims from political revenge. I hope President Noy will be sensible and compassionate to us victims and witnesses in our pursuit for justice,” said Ong. “Putting him (Villaroman) in power is a clear and present danger, it is harassment of the worst kind having government behind to intimidate us.”

Ong said that two Hong Kong families have sought assistance from the Hong Kong Justice Department and had to file cases at the Hong Kong High Court.

“They followed the due process that took so long, from Hong Kong Department of Justice through the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila then Philippine Department of Justice through the Mutual Assistance Treaty.”

Villaroman was designated as temporary chief of the MPD after Magtibay went on leave after the bungled hostage-taking rescue operations, which resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists.

Magtibay went on leave last Wednesday to give way to an impartial investigation of the alleged mishandling of the assault operations in Rizal Park that also resulted in the death of the hostage taker.

Four MPD Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officers – identified as Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual, Senior Police Officer 4 Reynaldo Antonio, SPO3 Alfonso Gaming, and SPO2 Bernardo Espinosa – were also relieved because of their hesitation and lapses during the assault on the tourist bus where dismissed police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza held the Chinese tourists hostage.

Mendoza, dismissed from the police force last year for extortion, commandeered last Monday a Hong Thai Travel tourist bus in Intramuros and held hostage 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipino guides for several hours in front of the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park in Manila.

The suspect, armed with an M16 rifle and a pistol, had released several hostages before the SWAT team assaulted the bus.

Police hostage negotiators said Mendoza turned violent due to frustrations after failing to get his demand to be reinstated to the police force.

New MPD chief vows to start reforms

Villaroman had vowed to initiate reforms and new programs at the MPD to improve the tarnished image of Manila policemen due to allegations of torturing a robbery suspect and the bungled hostage crisis at the Rizal Park.

In his first dialogue with the MPD Press Corps after a command conference with the police directorial staff and support units, Villaroman said Manila policemen would undertake seminars on values formation and police operational procedures, part of the transformation program of Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa.

Villaroman, Manila police intelligence chief from 1996 to 1997, also called for the immediate resolution of the alleged torture case and the investigation of the hostage crisis.

Criminal charges were filed at the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Senior Inspector Joselito Binayug, chief of the Asuncion police community precinct in Tondo, who was allegedly caught on video torturing an arrested robbery suspect.

Binayug was charged for violating the newly passed Republic Act 9745 (Anti-Torture Act of 2009) along with two superiors and six subordinates in a complaint filed by the Philippine National Police National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Binayug was identified as the primary suspect in the torture of Darius Evangelista, an alleged robbery suspect now a victim after he was shown being tortured on video.

The torture video leaked to the media and shown on television last week showed a police officer in civilian clothes whipping the suspect and pulling on a rope that was tied to the victim’s genitals while cursing the latter.

The incident allegedly happened inside the Asuncion police precinct in Tondo.

The alleged torture was caught on video from a cell phone.

Villaroman told reporters that he would also designate a single spokesman for the cases of torture and hostage crisis so that media will not get conflicting versions of the ongoing investigations.

He also tasked various units of the MPD to provide the necessary documents and personalities to various task forces now handling the investigations.

Villaroman, of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1979, said he would impart to Manila policemen the rules on proper hostage negotiation since he had undergone training at Britain’s Scotland Yard in 1992.

The MPD chief, set to retire next year upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56, said he would devote his remaining year to improving the image of Manila policemen.

Villaroman served as police consultant to then Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte for seven years. He was the executive officer of the Directorate of Integrated Police Operations for eastern Mindanao (Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Agusan) before his transfer to the MPD. With Nestor Etolle, Sandy Araneta