2 police officials at war over bungled VCD raid

Two police officials are on a warpath over a foiled operation conducted by the Videogram Regulatory Board (VRB) against vendors of pirated compact discs in San Juan.

San Juan police chief Superintendent Rodrigo de Gracia and Superintendent William Cion of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) blamed each other for the confusion that took place in the Greenhills raid last Aug. 13.

The trouble started when the VRB team headed by Cion was blocked and denied entry into the shopping center by Muslim vendors. The ensuing commotion prompted lawyer Rex Panumpang, the president of the Muslim Traders Association, to call for police assistance.

Reports revealed that after De Gracia rushed to the scene Cion and his team hurriedly left .

In his report to CIDG chief Director Nestorio Gualberto, Cion accused De Gracia of intervention which resulted to the failed raid. He claimed De Gracia tried to intercede in favor of the Muslim traders.

Cion’s report prompted Gualberto to berate De Gracia. The CIDG chief also ordered the San Juan police chief to explain in writing why he should not be charged administratively for his lapses.

For his part, De Gracia claimed Cion made up the story to mask the non-completion of his assigned task.

"His indecisiveness, plus his fear of the Muslim traders prompted his team to pull out of the area," said a fuming De Gracia.

He challenged Cion to show proof that he intervened in the VRB operation.

De Gracia pointed out that Cion failed to coordinate with the San Juan police, which rushed to the area after Panumpang had reported the presence of armed men.

De Gracia insisted that Cion was simply using him as a scapegoat.

"Members of the police organization should not be using scapegoats in the failure to accomplish a mission," he said. – Non Alquitran