7 CIDG cops face charges in row over swindler's 'kidnap'

MANILA, Philippines - At least seven personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) were charged for “obstructing” the arrest of a woman convicted of seven counts of estafa worth P5.5 million last May 18.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said yesterday that the CIDG and the Quezon City Police District “both committed lapses” that led to the near-shootout when CIDG personnel tried to rescue the convicted swindler from her “kidnappers,” who turned out to be QCPD operatives who had arrested her.

Robredo said the misunderstanding should have been prevented had the personnel followed procedures in arresting a convict. He said the QCPD personnel should not have taken Marilyn Ong to a restaurant and asked why the CIDG would allow a person with a standing arrest warrant to seek help for another fugitive.

The QCPD filed charges before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office last May 25 against Chief Inspector Reynaldo Magdaluyo, Senior Inspector Rommel Macatlang, Senior Police Officers 2 Reginaldo Nicolas and Fernando Esguerra, Police Officers 2 Ringo Medalla, Maximo Seda and Shiela Famuleras and 10 other unnamed police officers.

The standoff occurred following the arrest of Ong and Edna Alfuerto, who had been at large despite having been convicted last year for issuing bouncing checks.

In the complaint, the QCPD said its officers coordinated with the Cavite police before serving an arrest warrant on Ong on May 18 when they chanced upon her van along Aguinaldo Highway.

The QCPD said Ong told police officers she knows Alfuerto’s location and asked that she be released when Alfuerto is arrested. Police officers allowed Ong to communicate with Alfuerto, and she suggested they meet at the Uncle Moe’s Shawarma Hub restaurant along Malingap street in Barangay Teachers Village, Quezon City.

The CIDG had earlier said Alfuerto and two lawyers had walked in at its office in Camp Crame, claiming Ong had been kidnapped.

The CIDG “rescued” Ong at the restaurant and disarmed QCPD personnel, handcuffed them and forced them into a vehicle. When 70 more QCPD personnel arrived, they took Ong back and rescued their detained colleagues.

The QCPD noted that Alfuerto was in the company of CIDG police officers despite the fact that she was a convicted swindler. The QCPD also stressed that the CIDG submitted its coordination report with the QCPD an hour after the standoff. A coordination report is usually filed before an operation.