PNP trainee raps official for sexual harassment

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – A rookie policewoman accused her superior of sexually molesting her while she was undergoing training at a PNP camp in Negros Occidental.

Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol, police regional director, admitted that there was indeed a complaint lodged against a policeman with the rank of chief inspector, whose identity was temporarily withheld in the absence of formal criminal and administrative charges against him.

Querol did not also delve into the essentials of the incident, but according to reports, the woman was undergoing PNP Special Counter-Insurgency Operations Unit Training (SCOUT) at Victorias City when the incident happened.

According to the neophyte policewoman, some three weeks ago, the police official called and told her to sit beside him. Then the official, who was allegedly under the influence of liquor, began fondling her sensitive parts, she said.

Since the official held a key position in the training team, she was “powerless” to defend the sexual advancements on her, said the policewoman whose adoptive father and brother are also policemen currently in active service

Some reports indicated that she had apprehensions in pursuing criminal and administrative charges against the official, but upon proddings of her adoptive father, who is assigned to Aklan province, she went on to place her complaint, she said.

The information on the woman’s profile was not made public except that she graduated cum laude from a school in Western Visayas. The chief inspector, on the other hand, is on his late 30s and has a family of his own.

The official's former superiors testified that he has been known to be a good officer. They surmised that alcohol could have overtaken his wisdom to exercise due prudence in dealing with a woman.

After the incident was reported, the police official was relieved from his post and is now assigned to the Guimaras Police Provincial Office (GPPO). He was also restricted since last week,” said Querol while the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division (RIDMD) is now conducting investigation against the suspect.

Meanwhile, Querol believed it was not the first time that reports of sexual harassment during trainings surfaced. “Allegedly, there were previous incidents (not involving the subject policemen). But no complaint was ever made,” he said.

To avoid the same incident from happening again, Querol told the members of the training committee not to give special treatment to any trainees. “They must put limitations on how they deal with their subordinates. It should be strictly professional,” he added as he further urged the training command to allot time for discussion on the incident and prevent its recurrence in the future. - THE FREEMAN