7 Caloocan cops face raps over leptospirosis victim’s death

MANILA, Philippines — Administrative charges have been filed against seven members of the Caloocan police over the death of an altar boy who contracted leptospirosis as he waded through floods looking for his detained father, the National Police Commission (Napolcom) said.

“They were charged with grave misconduct, grave dishonesty, incompetence, oppression and conduct unbecoming of a police officer,” Napolcom vice chairman and executive officer Rafael Calinisan announced at a press briefing yesterday.

Calinisan did not name the police personnel.

The charges were filed by the Napolcom Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Service before the agency’s Legal Affairs Service, which will assign a hearing officer to handle the case and issue summons to the respondents.

Records showed that the teenager’s father, Jayson dela Rosa, was arrested by police in July for allegedly stealing from a convenience store.

While the store opted not to press charges, police personnel of the Caloocan substation 2 reportedly kept him in detention for three days before filing a complaint against him for illegal gambling or playing cara y cruz.

Dela Rosa filed a case before the Napolcom in August, resulting in the relief of the Caloocan police substation commander and his men.