Charges readied vs soldiers who stormed Lipa cop station

LIPA CITY — "We cannot take this (incident) just sitting down."

Thus said Senior Superintendent David Quimio, this city’s police chief, after their station was turned into a virtual battle zone when at least 40 men of the Army’s elite forces stormed it before dawn last Friday.

The soldiers, led by Capt. Rommil Abayon, swooped down on the police station, beat up the desk officer and disarmed the 15 policemen manning it then.

Abayon led the raid to get back his service firearms which city policemen, as part of their Oplan Bakal, seized from him while he was at the Wat Else restaurant and videoke bar in Barangay Balintawak here at about 2:24 a.m.

Abayon and his men arrived two hours later at the city police headquarters fully armed and on board a six-by-six Army truck.

Quimio said they are now preparing charges against Abayon’s group for robbery-in-band, direct assault, malicious mischief, and physical injuries.

Quimio, who was not at the station when the incident happened, said he could have been killed fighting to protect his station.

"Hindi sana nakapasok ang mga sundalo sa station kung nandito ako dahil alam ko ang ugali ng mga sundalo (The soldiers could not have entered the station had I been here because I know how soldiers behave)," Quimio told The STAR.

Had he been informed about what happened at the videoke bar, Quimio said he could have barricaded the police station.

"Bago pa sila makalapit sa station, baka nagkabakbakan na (Even before they could have gotten near the station, there could have been a fight)," he said.

"It is very fortunate that bloodshed had been prevented," he added.

Quimio had just undergone an angiogram in Manila before the raid took place.

City police officials met with their legal advisers yesterday to prepare the case they intend to file against Abayon and his men.

"We have a strong case against them and we will pursue it until justice prevails," Quimio said.

Abayon’s group beat up the desk officer, SPO3 Alberto Garing, resulting in contusions on his abdomen and other parts of the body.

Aside from manhandling the policemen, Abayon and his men disarmed them of their service firearms, including an AK-47, three M-16 rifles, four 9-mm pistols, three caliber .45 pistols and two caliber .38 revolvers.

The firearms, however, were later returned upon orders of Abayon’s superiors.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, through Maj. Gen. Pedro Cabuay, Armed Forces Southern Luzon chief, has relieved Abayon as the operations officer of the Special Forces Company.