By NITZ ARANCON
and NICOLE MANAGBANAG
Correspondents
A TRUCKING company executive yesterday broke down at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) as he identified three detained policemen as the ones who allegedly extorted money from him in August.
The three policemen are among the members of the just-deactivated Crime against Persons and Property Desk of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) who were arrested on Tuesday for the Oct. 23 abduction of former overseas worker Enrique Fernandez III in uptown Cagayan de Oro.
Felixbertto Gonzales, manager-consultant of Mindanao Trucking Services Inc., pointed to SPO2 Jojo Lim, PO2 Sangkula Hussein, ug PO3 Alejandro Ubanan.
He accused the officers of arresting him and seven others in Gusa in Aug. 18 on trump up charges, and then making him pay P100 thousand in Aug. 19 on the promise that they would be released from the Maharlika detention center in Carmen.
Gonzales said the officers barged into the trucking company’s compound in the wee hours of Aug. 18, and then accused them of stealing petroleum products.
Those arrested included a minor, and drivers Ramil Fuertes, Ernesto Morales, Clemente Cabusao, Emmanuel Berboza, Mario Bradares and William Sabella.
He said he and his workers were originally booked for violation of the Consumers Act and theft.
After being pressured to shell out P100 thousand, Gonzales said, the police did not pursue the complaint for violation of the Consumers Act. He said the case was dropped, but not the theft case.
Gonzales said he and the other workers suffered four days of detention.
He alleged that Lim, Hussein and Ubanan demanded P100 thousand from him.
“Ingon sila nga ila ming buhi-an basta maghatag mi ug P100 thousand,” said Gonzales.
He said he gave the money at 4 pm, Aug. 19. “Akong gihatag ang P100 thousand sa gawas sa ilang opisina sa Maharlika, ug si Hussein gyud ang nagdawat,” Gonzales said.
He said Lim was even angry at him. “Ingon siya ‘Kadugay ba sa kuwarta.’”
Gonzales said the officers did not keep their work because they still filed a theft complaint against them, the reason why they continued to be detained until Aug. 22. He said he and his group ended up shelling out P340 thousand more as bailbond.
He said he had just arrived from Iligan city when one of the drivers called him up because armed men barged into the private compound.
The theft case against Gonzales group is now being heard by Judge Jose Escobido of the 37th branch of the Regional Trial Court here.
His lawyer Mateo Delegencia said Gonzales and his co-accused have entered a not guilty plea.
Delegencia said he would file a motion to dismiss the case “kay wala may complainant.”
Delegencia said the policemen did not have a search warrant when they barged into the compound of the trucking company.
“Ang ilang gipangdakop ang mga tawo, natulog didto. Wala may nageklamo?” Delegencia said.
Lim, Hussein and Ubanan were among the five policemen charged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with kidnapping, serious illegal detention and carnapping in connection with the disappearance of Fernandez outside an e-Bingo establishment at Uptown Condotel in Upper Carmen, this city, last month.
The others linked to Fernandez’s disappearance are the group’s leader Senior Insp. Ereneo Ramirez and SPO1 Aliandelon Tacubao.
The NBI also pressed charges against “assets” (police informers) Rolando Udasco, one Boy Guevarra and a John Doe for allegedly being accomplices.
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