A POLICE major has gone AWOL (absent without official leave) after eight of his men were arrested for involvement in a robbery extortion case in Las Pinas City.
Maj. Emerson Coballes, chief of the District Special Operations Unit (DSOU) of the Eastern Police District in Pasig City, is now the subject of a manhunt operation.
“At present, their (policemen’s) team leader remains at large. Maj. Emerson Coballes remains at-large and we’re continuing our efforts to find him,” said Brig. Gen. Rogelio Peñones Jr, deputy chief for administration of the National Capital Region Police Office.
In a press briefing with Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Peñones said Coballes was not present during the incident.
“Immediately (after the arrest of the eight policemen), he went on AWOL, that’s why we are still looking for him and appropriate charges will be (filed) against him,” said Peñones.
Peñones said the eight policemen were placed under arrest after the EPD found irregularities in the operation they conducted in Las Pinas last April 2. The policemen reportedly carted away P72 million worth of cash, jewelry and other items.
He said the policemen served an arrest warrant against one Jie Li, a Chinese, for illegal possession of firearms. It turned out that the real Jie Li had been arrested two years ago.
“The person they arrested is not the real Mr. Jie Lie. So there was already mistaken identity because the original Mr. Jie Li was already arrested by CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) on March 9, 2023 for the same violation,” said Peñones.
“We believe that their real motive is robbery. The serving of the warrant was only a disguise to justify their presence there. If you are going to analyze it, their ultimate motive is robbery,” said Peñones.
Peñones added that the policemen claimed to have been offered a P14 million bribe.
“It’s quite unbelievable. Allegedly, they were offered a P14 million bribe when the (case he is supposedly facing) is bailable by P200,000,” said Peñones.
“Immediately, they were placed on restrictive custody, disarmed. We saw a lot of violations, including the required wearing of body-worn cameras,” said Peñones.
Remulla said he believes no top officials of the PNP are involved in the incident, which has resulted in the relief of EPD director Brig. Gen. Villamor Tuliao for command responsibility.
“I believe these are rogues who are working on their own,” said Remulla of the eight policemen who are facing criminal and administrative charges.
Peñones said four of the eight policemen were involved in a similar robbery incident in Mandaluyong City. He said the four were charged administratively but the case has yet to be resolved.
During yesterday’s flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil told policemen to uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability.
“When we entered the service, our last name became our first name — and our last name is the Philippine National Police…Every action we take reflects not only on ourselves but on the entire organization,” said Marbil.
Marbil noted that a single misconduct by a policeman can tarnish the reputation of the entire police force and erode public trust.
He urged policemen to guard the dignity of their uniform and take proactive steps to correct the mistakes of their peers.
“Let us take care of our uniform. Let us police our own ranks. Remind those who err before it becomes too late,” said Marbil.
To unit chiefs and field commanders, Marbil said: “Make sure that your men are doing the right things. There will be no second chances for those who commit grave mistakes.”
In line with the coming national and local elections, Marbil reiterated his reminder to police to remain apolitical and fair.
“I challenge everyone — let us bring back the dignity of our uniform. This is the only gift we can truly offer to our country: a PNP that the public can trust,” he said.
