Tom asks Ombudsman to include CIDG in probe

With the Ombudsman's probe on the alleged intervention of city councilor Gerardo Carillo in a police operation, Mayor Tomas Osmeña is calling on the anti-graft office to also include the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group as subject of the fact-finding inquiry.

"Are they exempted from scrutiny? They should include CIDG also. They should look at the whole pattern," Osmeña said.

The mayor said he favors the inquiry by the Ombudsman or any inquiry on the matter just to shed light on the controversy. However, the inquiries should not spare the CIDG, as the agency may have also committed lapses during the raid last Friday.

Osmeña pointed out that the search warrant did not even specify the places to be searched, but only stipulated the alleged fake creams that are reportedly sold in some stores downtown. Carillo had also claimed there was no arrest since the search warrant did not name a specific person, but only mentioned the products suspected to be fake.

The mayor said it is the duty of public officials to respond to calls from their constituents.

"As elected official, you have to respond. That's what you're there for...whenever a constituent calls up, it's always in the condition that they are harassed," Osmeña said.

He also said that he is not accusing the CIDG of being corrupt but added, "they're all bunched up in the same system."

The other day, Osmeña decided to make it compulsory for elected officials in the city to address calls of their constituents in the presence of the media or at least the barangay captain where the incident took place.

The presence of the media or the barangay official, he said, would assure the public of transparency on the side of the elected official that he/she is but addressing the need of his constituents. Transparency, the mayor said, would dispel speculations of conflict of interest.

Carillo earlier said he would look into the bottom line of things considering that the CIDG has denied accusing him of having intervened in the operation. The police agency reportedly told him it was but a case of misunderstanding and even pointed to the media as having misinterpreted the issue.

CIDG personnel raided last Friday boutiques that allegedly sold fake beauty creams along Colon Street. Carillo, the lawyer of boutique owner John Sanchez, had denied he intervened in the operation and argued there was no arrest.

He said that since the police confiscated suspected Top Gel Pearl Creams from his client's store, it must be proven that these are indeed faked. Carillo also claimed that Ben Dy and Ke Gingy, who were reportedly seen supervising the operation of the stores that were raided, were just visiting the stores and had nothing to do with the fake beauty creams. - Joeberth M. Ocao