Torre slams Napolcom over trial by publicity

MANILA, Philippines — Former Philippine National Police chief Nicolas Torre III has criticized National Police Commission executive officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan for turning the Napolcom into a venue for “trial by publicity” over the case of a PNP officer who pushed a motorcycle rider off his vehicle in Pasig last week.

Torre criticized Calinisan for the lack of impartiality and for publicly judging a police officer before the formal investigation is concluded.

“When a police officer is wrong, they must be held accountable. There is no argument there. But when an officer is turned into a convenient sacrificial lamb for public applause, that is a different matter,” Torre said.

The former PNP chief said Calinisan, as an adjudicator, should have first heard all sides of the investigation before issuing a “premature judgment.”

“When a judge delivers a verdict before the process, it is no longer due process. That is prejudice. Administrative justice requires restraint, not performance,” Torre stressed.

He noted that many police officers see their reputations and careers damaged by public condemnation that comes ahead of a proper and final evaluation of their supposed wrongdoings.

He urged Calinisan to defend justice by also protecting PNP personnel from unfair persecution.

“If the system is fair, let the evidence decide – not the headline, not the noise and certainly not ambition disguised as righteousness,” Torre said.

Earlier, Calinisan berated in public Lt. Col. Edison Ouano, head of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) criminal investigation and detection unit, and Cpl. Benito Catungal for filing complaints of slight physical injury and malicious mischief against S/Sgt. Erwin Lagua.

Lagua was caught on video pushing a motorcycle rider off his vehicle along C5 Road in Pasig. Another video showed the rider, identified as Jhone Vincent Cayanes, provoking Lagua for cutting him off the lane.

Police initially filed a complaint for slight physical injury and malicious mischief, but upgraded it to frustrated murder and malicious mischief after Calinisan scolded the QCPD.

Calinisan said the initial complaint was a “wrongful and deliberate downgrade” of the case. He directed the Napolcom’s inspection and investigation service to file appropriate cases and facilitate the issuance of relief orders against Ouano and Catungal. — Emmanuel Tupas