Bacoor mayor, police chief charged

The Cavite provincial police has filed sedition and other criminal charges against Bacoor Mayor Jessie Castillo and three other municipal officials for padlocking its police station last month.

Cavite provincial police director Senior Superintendent Fidel Posadas also filed charges against Bacoor police chief Inspector Alex Borja and five other policemen for allegedly releasing three drug suspects a day after their arrest two months ago.

Posadas said Castillo, municipal legal officer Robert San Jose, municipal administrator Roel Zolete, and marshall Manny Loyola were charged with sedition, grave coercion, violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Law, violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards, misconduct in office and abuse of authority, which stemmed from the mayor’s memorandum order last Feb. 7 to padlock the local police station and four other police community precincts and seize nine patrol cars.

Borja and five other policemen – SPO1 Richard Ibao, PO2 Rommel Garcia, PO2 Feliciano Evangelio, PO1 Gilbert Camaclang, and PO1 Glenn Camarce – were charged with violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Law, violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards and violation of President Decree 1829, penalizing obstruction of apprehension and prosecution of criminal offenders for the release of drug suspects.

Based on three separate referral slips addressed to Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco, Posadas said on Jan. 10, he Bacoor Municipal Police Station conducted a buy-bust operation in Barangay Talaba 5 and arrested drug suspects.

However, the following day, Borja arrived at the police station, tore the police blotter containing the arrest of the three drug suspects and released them from police custody.