NCRPO head sacks cops in drug, cybersex diagram

MANILA, Philippines - National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Carmelo Valmoria ordered yesterday the administrative relief of all police officers named by slain Chief Inspector Elmer Santiago in a diagram as being involved in the illegal drugs trade and cybersex den operations in Bataan and Subic, Zambales.

This developed as the Special Investigation Task Force Santiago vowed to invite for questioning the 11 police officials and 22 personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) named by Santiago in his diagram.

Valmoria clarified that his order only covers policemen assigned in the NCRPO and its five police districts in Metro Manila.

The first he booted out was Superintendent Robin King Sarmiento of the Parañaque police. Sarmiento and Santiago are graduates of Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class 1996.

Some of the police officers Santiago named in his diagram are his classmates while the others are from different PNPA batches.

Valmoria also sacked 10 other police officials and 12 police officers named in Santiago’s diagram.

The NCRPO chief said his counterparts in other regions would be the ones to act against policemen under them.

“I would like to make it clear that the policemen would be administratively relieved because of Santiago’s diagram and not because of their involvement in his slaying,” he said in an interview.

Transparent probe

Valmoria said he directed Senior Superintendent Wilson Caubat, deputy chief for operations of the Eastern Police District and concurrent head of the task force to be “transparent in their investigation of the incident.”

“We should leave no stone unturned in our investigation of Santiago’s killing. Let the ax fall where it may,” he said in his directive to Caubat.

The NCRPO chief said he will act accordingly based on the recommendation of Caubat, whose task force is now in the process of “sorting and analyzing” evidence gathered at the crime scene.

Caubat claimed that policemen whose names appeared in Santiago’s diagram would be invited for questioning to determine whether they have a hand in his killing.

“Of course, we will investigate them all,” Caubat told The STAR, adding that all their actions in the case of Santiago is being consulted with the PNP’s legal officer.

Classmate

Santiago and his wife, Agnes, had just come from the house of a classmate, Superintendent Maristelo Manalo, in Mandaluyong City when their car – a black Toyota Altis sedan (WTY 700) – was strafed by two or three assailants along Talumpong street in Barangay Malamig.

Manalo’s name was also mentioned in Santiago’s diagram.

Senior Superintendent Tyrone Masigon, Mandaluyong police chief, said fired cartridges and several bullet fragments from 9mm and .45 caliber pistols and M16 Armalite rifles were found at the crime scene.

A .38 caliber revolver with no serial number was found on the driver’s seat of Santiago’s vehicle, Masigon said.

Santiago’s family has requested the National Bureau of Investigation to step into the murder investigation.

Despite this development, Caubat claimed they would exhaust all means to convince Agnes to cooperate in their probe of Santiago’s slay, especially in the preparation of the sketches of the attackers.