CA stops suspension of 4 Davao policemen

DAVAO CITY — The Court of Appeals’ third division issued last Monday a temporary restraining order stopping the Ombudsman for the Military and law enforcement agencies from carrying out the preventive suspension of four police officials here in connection with the unsolved summary killings in the city.

The Ombudsman for Mindanao earlier ordered the 60-day preventive suspension, without pay and allowances, of Superintendent Conrado Laza, former city police chief; and Inspectors Filmore Escobal, Vicente Danao and Matthew Baccay, all police precinct heads, for their alleged inefficiency, incompetence and neglect of duty in responding to the spate of extrajudicial killings in the city from August 1998 to June 2004.

City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte contested the allegations of the Ombudsman, saying the four police officials were not even assigned yet in their respective posts when the summary killings took place.

"It is really funny how the charges were filed against (them)," said Duterte, who vowed to extend legal and other assistance to the four police officials. — Edith Regalado