Cebu cop chief axed over drug raid mess

CEBU CITY — City police chief Hiram Benatiro will be relieved of his post and will face summary dismissal proceedings for failing to supervise his men whose arrest of alleged members of a Hong Kong triad last month did not follow procedure.

Aside from Benatiro, three other police officers are to be charged: deputy chief for administration Marciano del Mar for negligence, and detective bureau chief Perfecto ‘Roy’ Cordiñera and SPO2 Ranilo Nabua for grave misconduct.

A five-man committee headed by Senior Superintendent Alejandro Lapinid investigated the incident and recommended the sanctions, which have been concurred in by police regional director Avelino Razon.

"Dito pinapakita natin that we correct our own. Hindi pwedeng pa shortcut-shortcut," Razon told reporters yesterday.

Benatiro and Codiñera refused to comment, saying they have yet to receive their copies of the investigation report and the committee recommendations.

Three more policemen, SPO4 Reynaldo Matillano, PO3 Richard Valencia and PO3 Roy Trinidad, were cleared by the committee for lack of evidence.

In its report, the committee said Benatiro "dangerously presumed" that his subordinates, particularly Codiñera, were performing their functions in accordance with the law.

Thus, it said, the obligations and duties to exercise extra diligence in the control, management and supervision vested in a leader were not present before, during and after the operation.

"He is equally liable for the acts and omissions of his subordinates," the committee said of Benatiro.

Benatiro assumed the post only last July in an acting capacity since Mayor Tomas Osmeña has yet to make his own choice for the position.

On learning of the development, Osmeña said he will not oppose the relief of Benatiro.

The committee determined that the errors committed by Codiñera both in the investigation and filing of charges against Giovanni Gimenez, his brother Jovan, and friend Victor Ceniza, were apparently meant to sabotage the outcome of the case.

When Codiñera omitted to describe the particular place to be searched and the objects to be seized, it made the court issue a general warrant that was susceptible to being invalidated, the committee said.

The committee also cited clear violations committed by the detective bureau of standard operating procedures.

It found that witnessing barangay tanods Ferly Bersabal and Democrito Arpon were allowed to participate in the search and that the seized shabu was not immediately submitted for laboratory examination.

It also found that the return of the search warrant was not made within the required period of 72 hours after its service and that the police officers failed to deliver the suspects either to court or to a detention cell.

Then, the arresting officers deliberately split the 337.97 grams of shabu among the three suspects in order to lessen the gravity of the offense and allow them to post bail.

Normally, each of the three suspects would have been charged for the entire amount of illegal drugs seized.

Under the law, possession of at least 200 grams of shabu makes the offense a heinous crime for which the death penalty can be imposed upon a guilty verdict.

The committee also found that the shabu and the Starex van where it was found were not turned over to the evidence custodian.

The committee, however, found no evidence to support allegations that Benatiro took P1.8 million in bribes from a Taiwanese national, Chang Weng Kuen, in exchange for his freedom after he was allegedly caught along with the three suspects.

Benatiro said he will sue the Cebu Daily News for reporting the alleged bribe.

Ironically, the findings of the committee may help the suspects themselves.

Defense lawyer Pedro Leslie Salva said he will use the findings of the committee to support his bid to have the court quash the search warrant used by police in the arrest of his clients.

Salva, as with the committee, said the warrant could be defective because the place to be searched and the items to be seized were not specified.

If successfully quashed, the evidence gathered on the strength of the warrant will cease to have value in court. — Freeman News Service