2 cops relieved for abuse of authority

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay ordered yesterday the relief of two policemen for allegedly abusing their authority in the arrest of a 13-year-old boy for violating the city’s curfew ordinance.

Magtibay said Senior Police Officer 2 Allan Dematera and PO1 Juanito Arabejo, both detailed at the Sta. Cruz police station, shall be restricted at the MPD’s District Headquarters Support Unit pending the result of administrative proceedings against them. The DHSU is the withholding center of Manila policemen facing charges.

“I will not tolerate any misdoing of my men. I will personally see that they suffer the consequences of their misplaced actions. The police are the defenders of the people and should not instill fear among the populace,” Magtibay said.

Dematera and Arabejo are the subject of complaint of the mother of a 13-year-old boy whom they allegedly dragged out of an Internet shop supposedly for curfew violation. The boy claimed the two cops also took his money and cell phone.

Acting Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, whom the mother personally reported the matter, blew his top after hearing the complaint. Moreno said law enforcers are not supposed to barge into Internet shops and round up minors. He noted that the ordinance prohibits minors from loitering in the streets from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. However, Moreno stressed that law enforcers should not round up minors inside private establishments.

Magtibay said the command responsibility of the two cops’ superior, Superintendent Ernesto Tendero, shall be determined in the course of the investigation.

“Heads will definitely roll after the investigation, especially on the responsibility of Col. Tendero in the supervision of his men,” Magtibay said.

The STAR learned that Sta. Cruz policemen are the subject of numerous complaints from the public for their extortion and harassment activities.

Despite the complaints, Tendero reportedly did not lift a finger to discipline his men, the complainants said.