Police colonel faces probe for alleged Pentagon links

Summary dismissal proceedings are underway against a police colonel whom three arrested kidnapping suspects have tagged as an alleged protector of the notorious Pentagon syndicate which operates in Central and Western Mindanao.

Chief Superintendent Lucas Managuelod, chief of the Directorate for Investigation and Detection Management, said Senior Superintendent William Dangane is now restricted at the Philippine National Police at Camp Crame pending the results of the investigation.

The charges against Dangane stemmed from statements of three alleged Pentagon members earlier arrested by the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF) who identified the police official as among the syndicate’s protectors in the police force.

Because of the allegations, Dangane was relieved as operations chief of the PNP Task Force Sanlahi, a General Santos City-based special unit which was created primarily to go after Pentagon gang members in Central Mindanao.

Dangane’s deputy chief, Superintendent Efren Alquizar, however, was cleared of any wrongdoing, Managuelod said.

When sought for comment, Dangane’s lawyer, Luis Salazar, said his client has yet to be formally informed of the charges against him.

"Only the media people have informed us (about it). It is very unfair for the respondent because we have not received any documents informing my client about this. As far as I know, there are no charges leveled against him yet," Salazar told The STAR.

He described the charges against Dangane as "ridiculous," claiming that the three arrested Pentagon suspects gave their statements under duress and in the absence of any legal counsel.

Salazar said Dangane has replied to a Jan. 18 memorandum of Chief Superintendent Eduardo Matillano, Southern Mindanao police director, questioning Dangane’s failure to inform him about operational matters of the anti-kidnapping drive in the region.

Some police officers cried foul over the accusations against Dangane, suspecting that the police colonel might have been caught in the rivalry among police units involved in anti-kidnapping activities.