Deloso files murder try raps vs 2 cops

By JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondent . 

SUPT. Michael John Deloso, the deputy chief of Camp Alagar’s Regional Police Strategic Management Unit who survived a broad daylight ambush here last month, has pressed frustrated murder charges against two Camp Alagar-based policemen, Regional State Prosecutor Merlyn Uy confirmed yesterday.

Uy said Deloso filed the complaint against two fellow police officers on Thursday last week.

She declined to identify the two police officers, explaining that the Deloso case has yet to be assigned to a prosecutor and a subpoena has yet to be issued.

But another source identified those accused by Deloso as SPO1 Ian Quitoriano and PO3 Elmer Arabe, members of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit under Camp Alagar’s intelligence division.

Uy said the complaint would be assigned to a prosecutor after the New Year holidays, and a subpoena would then be issued so that the respondents could answer Deloso’s complaint within 10 days after they received the notice.

Uy said counter-affidavits would be required and then the prosecutor who would handle the case would recommend whether or not the case should be elevated to court.

Chief Insp. Ian Datiles, RDEU chief, confirmed that Quitoriano and Arabe are his subordinates. He said Deloso’s complaint came as a surprise to him.

Datiles described Quitoriano and Arabe as “very active illegal drug busters.”

He said the RDEU’s mandate is only to go after those involved in illegal drugs, and that doesn’t include extrajudicial methods like ridding the police organization of so-called “ninja cops.”

Datiles said he would confront Quitoriano and Arabe and discuss Deloso’s complaint with them.

Deloso was ambushed in broad daylight on Antonio Luna St., near the capitol, in Nov. 20. The bulletesistant glass installed around the police official’s driven Nissan Urvan cushioned the impact of the gun attack carried out by two masked assailants. Of the 26 bullets fired, 14 penetrated and hit Deloso who was driving the relatively new van.

Despite the gunshot wounds, Deloso managed to sneak out of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center and sought refuge in a safehouse. Until Thursday last week when he filed the complaint, nothing has been heard of him.

Supt. Surki Sereñas, Camp Alagar’s spokesman, said he, too, was surprised to learn that Deloso has filed a complaint against policemen, but he added that he has yet to get details of the complaint.

Sereñas assured Camp Alagar would not allow a whitewash of the complaint, adding that the National Police would never turn a blind eye to illegal or extrajudicial methods.