By LITO RULONA,
Correspondent
A municipal police chief and six of his subordinates are in hot water after they were accused of child abuse when they allegedly arrested a 14-year old Grade 6 pupil of Sagay Central School in Camiguin province and was allegedly mauled and maltreated inside the police station.
The complainant identified the chief of police as Senior Insp. Austin Karl Tirol and six other non-commissioned police officers identified as PO3 Luther Narvaza, PO1 Bladimer Maceda, PO1 Jose Valdehueza, PO1 Juan Romero, PO1 Neil Limki, and PO1 Marjun Paguia.
The police officers are now facing violation of R.A. 7610, An Act Providing for Stronger Deterrence and Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination and for other purposes before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
In a police blotter obtained by this paper, Narciso Zaballero and his spouse together with their son Rody (not his real name) a Grade 6 pupil of Sagay Central School, all residents of Barangay Bonbon went to Sagay Municipal Police Station to file their complaints on record.
The parents alleged that sometime on Aug. 6, at around 6 pm, their son was allegedly picked-up by three unidentified police officers from Sagay Municipal Police Station at their residence.
When his son got home, Rody told her mother that he was allegedly maltreated by unidentified police officers by punching his stomach, electrocuted by a stunned gun flashlight, slapped his face, tied both his wrists and ankles, and pointed a knife to his neck.
Rody also narrated that the police officers put pepper on his sex organ and put a small amount of rubbing alcohol on his eyes to prevent him from sleeping.
Further, Rody told his mother that he was allegedly threatened in vernacular words to quote: “Ayaw pagsaba sa imong mama kay patyon taka.”
A medical record from Catarman District Hospital signed by Dr. Mark Benedict Blanes confirmed that the victim sustained multiple physical injuries secondary to mauling.
Narciso Zaballero, who was interviewed over dxCC-Cagayan de Oro claimed that they had already sought legal assistance from Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Mambajao, Camiguin.
He said they also sought the assistance of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regional office 10 based in this city who formally received their complaints last week.
The father claimed that they were asked to report to Mambajao City Mayor Jesus Jardin Romualdo for a conference together with the police officers from Sagay Municipal Police Station but only to find that they were reprimanded because of the filing of the case on Monday.
“Pag-abot namo didto tua na ang mga polis pero gikasab-an man mi ni Mayor JJ. Gi-ingnan pa mi nga mga kawatan daw og mga addict among mga anak. Nakakuha mi og video sa pagpangasaba sa mayor,” he said.
He said they approached the same concern to Mayor Romualdo who initially told them that he would support the filing of the case but on the next conference the mayor allegedly blamed them for putting the police officers in bad light.
“Bahala na daw ang polis kung balosan kami ingon sa mayor unya kalit lang milakaw,” he added.
The incident was witnessed by Barangay Chairman Rossine Pabillore of barangay Bonbon, Sagay, Camiguin.
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