Barring any hitches, four members of the Central Police District earlier tagged by Quezon City Rep. Michael Defensor as mulcting cops are set to file grave coercion and harassment charges today against the solon in the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a phone interview, National Capital Regional Police Office director Chief Superintendent Edgar Aglipay clarified that it will not be him but Police Officers 1 Allan Jamor, Jonathan Jordanal, Allan Tesado and policewoman Inspector Fely Bucu who will be filing the charges.
Defensor, who represents the city's third district, last week allegedly tried to pressure the policemen, all detailed with CPD Station 10, into releasing four suspected prostitutes arrested for vagrancy.
The women, arrested on Feb. 16 near Padi's Point restaurant and bar on Timog Avenue, later turned out to be "close friends" of the young lawmaker.
According to the four cops, Defensor allegedly threatened to have them booted out of the service if Karen de Guzman, 23; Rona Faustino, 22; Gergilyn Feriles, 18; and Jammer Adrias, 23, would not be released from custody. The cops did not give in to Defensor.
"The threats, intimidation and moral force used on us by the public official created mental anguish. However, we stood pat on our conviction that what we did was right and in accordance with our sworn duty as enforcers of the law," the police officers said.
Subsequently, Defensor alleged that the four police officers filed vagrancy charges against the four after allegedly failing to extort money from them.
Aglipay was quick to come to the aid of the CPD policemen.
"(Cong. Defensor and I)...are good friends. Trabaho lang ito lahat. If I do not support these officers, the PNP will be placed in a bad light. I am not saying that they did not extort. But these are very young officers. It is now up to the court to determine who is telling the truth," Aglipay said.
He added that an investigation on the alleged extortion is now being conducted by the CPD.
Aglipay said that there was nothing irregular in the arrest of the four women and there were reporters who witnessed it. Footage of the incident was even shot by a television station.
"If these officers will be found guilty. Then sorry na lang. But if they are proven innocent, Congressman Defensor should take back his words," Aglipay added.