THE chief of the Laguna provincial police office and three of his men have been ordered relieved to face police investigation in relation to their alleged connection in the disappearance of 34 “sabungeros” or cockfight afficionados.
PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo said erstwhile Laguna police chief Col. Rogarth Campo was re-assigned to the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame.
The other policemen — Master Sergeant Michael Claveria, Staff Sergeant Daryl Paghangaan and Patrolman Roy Navarette, all with the intelligence unit of the provincial police — were re-assigned to the Personnel Holding Division of the Calabarzon Regional Police Office stationed in Laguna.
Fajardo said Campo is under probe by the PNP for allegedly accepting P1 million from gaming tycoon Atong Ang and for his possible involvement in the disappearance of the sabungeros.
On other hand, Fajardo said the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group is already preparing charges against Claveria, Paghangaan and Navarette.
She said the PNP is also investigating the liability of other police personnel for possible lapses in the supervision of their men under the command responsibility rule.
“The investigation is not limited to Col. Campo and the three policemen positively identified by witnesses. Our investigation is wide-ranging,” Fajardo said.
Ang was linked by witnesses in a Senate committee hearing to the disappearance of the sabungeros, an allegation which he denied and said was part of a conspiracy, supposedly headed by Campo, to bring him down.
The businessman has also alleged that Campo, while still assigned with the PNP Criminal Investigation Group, supposedly offered to “abduct” persons involved in “cloning” or duplication of videos from e-sabong platforms to illegally collect bets from patrons.
