Cop denies pushing guards to pin Fooda rob suspect

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Police Office Theft and Robbery Section chief Michael Bastes denied he pressured guards into identifying Roy Jose Quimada as one of the eight men who robbed the Fooda Savers Mart last March 9.

Quimada, in his counter-affidavit, surmised that the police pressured the guards into identifying him from the police rogues gallery as one of those who robbed the supermarket.

Quimada said it is impossible for him to have participated in the alleged robbery because he is a friend of the brother of the wife of one of the owners of Fooda Savers Mart.

In a press conference yesterday, Bastes said he has never pressured anyone in his 20 years as a policeman.

“That is not in my vocabulary. Wa gani ta kalitik. Ang ako, tinarong g’yud,” Bastes said.

Bastes said he cannot comment on the claims of Quimada but stands firm that the latter was positively identified by two of the three guards of the establishment as one of those eight robbers who pretended to be policemen responding to an alarm.

He also said they do not refer only to the rogues gallery to solve crimes.

“Naa pa mi daghang gisaligan. Naa pa’y intelligence report daan sa Mindanao. Naa’y official maka-testify na mao na’y iyang binuhatan,” Bastes said.

Quimada was allegedly implicated in another robbery and is out on bail.

Bastes also said that Quimada’s statement in the affidavit accusing the TRS chief of allegedly looking for him one time when he was at his favorite hangout in Cebu may be the handiwork of the suspect’s lawyer, Luisito Arma.

Bastes said that with this pending case, they may provide security to the three guards --Geoffrey Luna, 28; Jesse Rey Bajenting, 21; and Neil Zoren Boquecosa, 19-- who are no longer working in the establishment due to lack of training and firearm licenses.

The eight robbers made off with a vault with over P100,000 in coins and assorted cellular phones from Fooda Savers Mart. –Niña G. Sumacot/BRP   (THE FREEMAN)