Near-shootout at Malabon police station

Tension gripped the Malabon police station yesterday after police officers stopped their colleagues from locking up several suspects arrested for illegal gambling.

The arresting officers have just returned from raids in two barangays where several illegal gambling machines were seized.

Members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), whose identities were withheld, told Senior Inspector Roland Mabbun, chief of the Special Operations Group (SOG), and at least seven of his men to desist from discharging their duties because their unit has been dissolved.

Mabbun flew in a rage when he was shown an order dated Dec. 19 that his unit had been disbanded.

He was bringing in one alleged illegal gambling operator, three bettors, and seven illegal gambling machines, more known as video karera, a type of slot machine.

"Nagtatrabaho kami. Bakit kami pagbabawalan? (We are only doing our jobs. Why are we being told to stop?" Mabbun fumed, gritting his teeth in anger.

Cooler heads prevented a near shootout. Some of the raiders were earlier seen slowly unslinging their M-16 automatic rifles during the argument.

Mabbun and his men prevailed as Inspector Jorge Tabayag, chief of the station’s investigation and detective management section, signed the information sheet for inquest of the suspects.

Reporters were told that the station’s officer-in-charge, Superintendent Ramon de Jesus, was out attending a Christmas party at the Northern Police District headquarters at the time.

According to police reports, Mabbun’s unit staged separate raids in barangays Tanong and Longos at around 2:40 p.m. last Tuesday.

Arrested were Abel Caraan, 31, electronic technician and alleged illegal gambling operator; and bettors Rose Maratas, 39, Jenny Lucito, 22, and Jose Peyra, 32.

The raiders seized seven video karera machines, cash bets and a Honda Wave from Caraan who tried to flee aboard it.

Mabbun and his men bristled at the manner they were ordered to cease operations.

An officer whom Mabbun failed to identify handed him on Tuesday Station Order 2006-188 which deactivated and dissolved his SOG unit effective Dec. 19 "by order of the Officer-In-Charge (De Jesus)."

De Jesus had replaced the SOG with the "Anti-Crime Unit" which is directly under his command.

Mabbun’s men were reassigned to various police community precincts in the city. Mabbun was also put on "floating status" at the office of De Jesus, meaning he has no specific assignment. – With Pete Laude