2 cops held for threatening teens

MANILA, Philippines — Two police officers were apprehended after allegedly threatening three minors in Quezon City yesterday.

Police Officer 1 Mark Arce Callupaz, 31, and Police Officer 2 Emmanuel Castro, 32, were reportedly drunk when policemen accosted them in Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon at around 2 a.m., according to an investigation report.

Castro, who is from the regional drug enforcement unit of the National Capital Region Police Office, visited the home of his friend Callupaz, who is assigned to the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

The alleged victims, three boys aged between 14 and 16 years old, said they were walking along a street in a subdivision when they encountered the two police officers at around 12:10 a.m.

One of the victims claimed Castro grabbed him for an unknown reason, causing minor injuries. They said the police officers also pointed their handguns at them, prompting them to run away.

They informed their respective parents about the incident. The parents went to the QCPD Station 4 in Novaliches, which has jurisdiction over Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon.

Police officers took Castro and Callupaz under their custody and brought them to the QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) at Camp Karingal for further investigation.

A police official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Castro and Callupaz claimed they just confronted the minors for violating curfew.

“The minors were apparently disrespectful, which irked the policemen,” the source said in a phone interview.