Pasuquin police chief, 3 cops relieved over alleged violence in station
Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame
MANILA, Philippines — The chief and three officers of the Pasuquin municipal police in Ilocos Norte were relieved pending investigation for allegedly hitting civilians said to be reporting an incident at the station.
“We do not condone these kinds of actions by our policemen,” Ilocos Norte police provincial director Col. Frederick Obar said in Filipino at a press conference on Tuesday.
“That’s why, immediately in the morning, I’ve relieved for now the chief of police as well as those we’ve identified in the police station to be involved in the commotion. They’re here in the provincial headquarters for further investigation,” he added.
In a posted on Facebook on Monday morning, the three municipal police officers were seen allegedly attacking the complainants.
This came after the Provincial Mobile Force Company broke up a brawl between two groups during a wake in Barangay Davila, Pasuquin last March 30, Obar explained.
The Ilocos Norte police chief said the officers were relieved to prevent “whitewashing” the ongoing investigation, adding that they were now seeking out the side of the supposed victim.
Obar said the officers were not in uniform and had just come from a Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoint operation.
READ: Ilocos police probe viral cops involved in violence in Pasuquin
“If, in our investigation, we see that the offense of our police falls under my disciplinary authority, this will be given a resolution, and our organization will give appropriate disciplinary action,” he explained in Filipino.
“Nonetheless, we’re sending our apology to our fellow citizens. Not all of our police are like that. There’s just a few that are isolated cases that happen there. It doesn’t represent the whole of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office,” he added.
