Robbery suspect names Manila cop as protector

An arrested robbery suspect named yesterday a Manila policeman as the protector of robbers and snatchers in the Quiapo area.

During a press briefing yesterday, Jose Araña, 49, of Arlegui, Quiapo, said “all robbers… and snatchers in Quiapo remit their loot to Chito Malaluan,” a policeman reportedly assigned to the Sta. Cruz police station.

He made the allegation in front of journalists in the office of retired colonel Franklin Gacutan, chief of the Mayor’s Complaint and Action Team at the Manila City Hall yesterday.

Araña was nabbed by traffic enforcers of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau after they heard the shouts of a female student whose cell phone was snatched.

Araña said he was compelled to steal for fear of being beaten up by Malaluan, who allegedly beats up his companions if they could not remit the valuables they had stolen.

Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales ordered a face-to-face confrontation between Araña and Malaluan.

“I will not condone the wrongdoings of my men. But definitely I will give more weight to the statement of the accuser for being brave enough to accuse a policeman,” Rosales said.

Sta. Cruz police station chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula said Malaluan claimed Araña’s statement is “just a way of getting back at him” after he arrested and charged him in court for robbery.

However, Sapitula said he will direct Malaluan to face the accusations squarely and without threatening his accuser. Araña, meanwhile, is asking for protection from the Manila City Hall, saying his days are numbered.