SPD chief denies cops looted mall

Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Jose Gutierrez cried foul over insinuations that his men were behind the looting of several establishments at the Ayala Center in Makati City following the failed mutiny last July 27.

"It is unfair to insinuate that responding law enforcers were the ones behind the looting at the Ayala Center. We can assure the public that my men did not take anything from the establishments there," Gutierrez said.

When police took over Ayala Center, Gutierrez pointed out that no one was allowed within the Ayala perimeter. Elements of the SPD arrived at the area shortly after mutineers laid down their arms and headed back to barracks. SPD has jurisdiction over Makati City.

The SPD chief issued the clarification after investigators tasked to look into the alleged looting virtually cleared the rebel soldiers of theft, even describing them as "well behaved."

Malacañang ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged looting, stemming from complaints of stall owners who claimed to have lost merchandise during the mutiny.

NBI officials said they would closely coordinate with the Ayala Center management to get to the bottom of the looting.

Aside from describing them as "behaved," investigators also noted that the "IOU lists" left behind by the soldiers at the stalls in Makati City further strengthened their credibility because they had indicated intention to pay later for the goods they took.

But Gutierrez has a different interpretation of the IOU lists. He noted the IOU lists recovered from several stalls at the Ayala Center only showed that the Magdalo soldiers indeed took items.

"Siguro yung iba hinda na lang naglista (Maybe some soldiers did not bother to list down what they took)," he pointed out.

Gutierrez also pointed out that the fact that Magdalo soldiers brought boxes of canned goods and containers of drinking water when they took over Oakwood Premier does not necessarily mean other mutineers did not take other items from the stalls. – Cecille Suerte Felipe