MANILA, Philippines (Updated 2:56 p.m.) — The chief of the Philippine National Police ordered Sunday the immediate conduct of the summary dismissal proceedings against a police officer who was accused of sexually abusing a quarantine violator in Mariveles, Bataan.
Police Patrolman Elmer Tuazon Jr., 24, stands accused of sexually harassing an alleged violator, together with Armando Dimaculangan, who was the marshal team leader assigned at the police-manned quarantine control point in Barangay Batangas 2.
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In a statement, Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said that criminal complaints of Rape by Sexual Assault and Acts of Lasciviousness have been lodged against the two suspects with the prosecutor saying probable cause exists for the said crimes and recommends that criminal information be filed in court.
"I apologize to the victim and his family for what happened to him and I assure you that you will get justice here," Eleazar said in Filipino. "Our compatriots can also ensure immediate action against the corrupt in our ranks."
Tuazon Jr., assigned to the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company, has since been placed under restrictive custody and ordered to respond to the allegation against him.
Citing information from initial police reports, Eleazar said that Tuazon and Dimaculangan apprehended the victim, a 19-year-old, at a quarantine control point.
"The victim was then taken to the boarding house of the policeman where the two took turns in molesting the victim," Eleazar said.
A progress report from the Mariveles Municipal Police Station also said that inquest proceedings were held earlier Saturday over Zoom.
"Probable cause exists for the said crimes and recommends that criminal information be filed in court," Police Lt. Col. Cesar Lumiwes, Mariveles chief of police, said in the report.
It is unclear if Lumiwes himself faces administrative sanctions for command responsibility over Tuazon.
Eleazar said he ordered Police Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, Central Luzon police director, to investigate the alleged incident and vowed that the police organization would remove the erring patrolman from service and "file multiple cases against him."
"There is no place in the PNP for the police to use the power granted by the people to exploit and abuse our countrymen," he said in Filipino.
"Nakikiusap din ako na huwag sanang lalahatin ang kapulisan dahil iilan lamang ang mga ito at higit na mas nakakarami ang mga pulis na handang tumulong at gumagawa ng tamas sa ngalan ng police service."
(I'm also asking the public not to generalize our policemen because there are only a few cases and there are more police officers who are ready to help and do right in the name of the police service.)
This is not the first case of police officers allegedly abusing violators at checkpoints.
According to a Rappler report, women and men alike were forced to offer sex to cops to pass through the quarantine control points during the lockdowns of early 2020.
In response to the allegations, former PNP chief Archie Gamboa said the police did not receive any formal complaints of such instances.
Eleazar, too, continues to assert that similar instances of abuse are isolated incidents, rejecting what critics say is a culture of abuse and impunity pervading the police organization.
The PNP this month ordered its Women and Children Protection Center and Anti-Cybercrime Group to take measures to prevent violence against women and children or VAWC amid the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine.
Eleazar also called on the public to immediately file complaints against cops who are involved in illicit activities. — Franco Luna with a report from The STAR/Emmanuel Tupas