(Eagle News) — The National Capital Region Police Office is set to relieve the entire Caloocan City Police, in a bold move seen as a warning by the Philippine National Police leadership against erring policemen in general.
The announcement came after another dubious incident that saw several personnel from police community precinct 4 barging inside a house in civilian clothes without a search warrant and stealing items on Sept. 4.
The PCP4 commander, who was among those relieved in the first batch, said in a radio interview that Senior Insp. Warren Peralta, assigned at the precinct’s public assistance desk who acted as team leader in that supposed operation, had told him he was to conduct a police operation but did not provide other details.
“Wala akong knowledge na may pinasok silang bahay,” he said.
NCRPO chief Director Oscar Albayalde has ordered those involved in the operation to surrender their firearms and to be reassigned to the Regional Police Holding Administrative Unit to undergo a retraining for 45 days.
“And then they will be reassigned somewhere else, but not in Caloocan anymore,” Albayalde said.
First batches
Apart from PCP 4, Albayalde said personnel from two other stations have been sacked.
He said each station has from 50 to 60 personnel.
“Ang tinitignan natin na irelieve, yung buong personnel ng Caloocan Police,” Albayalde said, noting that more reliefs would come in the following days.
He said the relieved policemen would be replaced by members of the Regional Police Safety Battalion, or those used to secure Association of Southeast Asian Nations events.
“Ito ay isang preemptive measure. Para maiwasan na ang iba pang pangyayari na nangyari dati,” he said.
He said this move should serve as a warning to all districts.
Delos Santos, Arnaiz killings
On Aug. 16, Kian Loyd delos Santos was killed in what the Caloocan police said was an anti-drug operation that saw the 17-year-old firing at them to resist arrest.
But Delos Santos’ father Saldy disputed the police account, pointing at footage from the barangay closed-circuit television camera that showed two policemen holding his son.
“How could he have fired a gun?” Saldy said.
On Aug. 18, Carl Angelo Arnaiz died in an ensuing shootout after he resisted patrol policemen who were out to arrest him for robbing a taxi driver, Caloocan Police said.
But Arnaiz’s parents refuted the police account, noting the results of the autopsy conducted by the Public Attorneys Office that purportedly showed the teenager was tortured before he was killed.
PAO said Arnaiz had a swollen eye and handcuff marks based on the test results.
Charges have been filed against the Caloocan policemen involved in those incidents.