7 MPD station chiefs charged with grave misconduct

MANILA, Philippines - The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has filed grave misconduct charges against seven station commanders of the Manila Police District (MPD) for allegedly pocketing part of the P1,000 duty allowances of their men in the last May elections.

NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales approved the re-commendation of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division to charge the seven station commanders after finding probable cause in the complaint against them. Rosales directed the seven MPD police officials to appear before an investigating body to present their side on the issue.

“It’s now up to the investigating body to determine their guilt and recommend sanctions against them,” said Rosales in an interview. But Rosales clarified that the commanders from Stations 1 to 7 of the MPD would remain in their respective posts while the investigation is ongoing so as not to disrupt police servi-ces to the general public.

The maximum penalty for such offense is dismissal from the police service, he said. He noted that he would not issue a clearance for any of the seven station commanders, a requisite for their promotions to the next rank while they are not off the hook by the probe body.

Rosales ordered Superintendent Matthew Perlas Baccay, RIDMD chief following complaints by their men that they failed to distribute fully the P1,000 duty allowance due them in the last elections.

In separate explanations before Baccay, the station commanders claimed that they distributed P300, P400 and P500 in cash to their men while the remaining balance were diverted to food expenses.

No single centavo received

They claimed that the election fund was released to them on May 5 and that they were already incurring expenses since May 2 while guarding the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines deployed in various schools in Manila.

One of the complainants, SPO2 Virgo Villareal, an official of the Manila’s Finest who was deployed in Station 3 said he did not receive a single cent of the supposed election duty allowance. But Station 3 commander Superintendent Nelson Yabut, explained that he had withdrawn the money on May 13. But Baccay said there is no evidence that Yabut released the money to Villareal. Yabut is now the head of the MPD’s district mobile group (DMG).         

Baccay noted that while the seven station commanders failed to release their men’s duty allowance, the remaining four other station commanders of the MPD and other chiefs of police in Metro Manila distributed the entire amount to their rank-and-file.