PARENTS of four kidnap victims yesterday filed administrative charges before the National Police Commission (Napolcom) against several policemen who were allegedly involved in the disappearance of their children.
The complainants alleged the abductions were perpetrated by the policemen in relation to the Duterte administration’s war against illegal drugs.
Four of the policemen charged were among the 12 cops sued by whistleblower Julie Patidongan in July in connection with the case of the missing “sabungeros” or cockfighting enthusiasts.
The four are Lt. Col. Ryan Jay Orapa, Maj. Mark Philip Almedilla, Senior Master Sergeant Mark Anthony Manrique and Staff Sgt. Edmon Hernandez Muñoz.
One of the complainants, Elizabeth Sotto, mentioned seven other policemen and two confidential informants who were included in their complaint.
Sotto is the mother of Charles Dean Sotto who was abducted in March 2021. The victim remains missing as of yesterday.
The other complainants were Roger Mateos and Milagros Estacio.
Mateos is the father of brothers Jorgio and Mico Franco Mateos, while Estacio is the mother of Dane Mark Carlos. The Mateos brothers were abducted in April 2021, while Carlos was abducted in February 2021.
The parents, who said their children are innocent, said they earlier filed criminal cases against the same policemen before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) but these were dismissed.
“Four years after (the abduction), we are still searching justice for our children. Now, we’re here at Napolcom to file a case, revive the case,” Sotto said.
“My two sons were abducted,” said Mateos, who tagged Orapa as the leader of the group that supposedly abducted his children.
Napolcom vice chairman and executive officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan said the commission will thoroughly look into the complaints filed by the parents.
“We’re not only talking here about the war on drugs, we are also talking about sabong (cockfighting),” Calinisan said, adding that the latest cases will be examined separately from the administrative cases filed in relation to the missing sabungeros cases.
Told that cases filed by the parents with the NBI and DOJ were earlier dismissed, Calinisan said it is the job of the Napolcom to look into the complaint filed before it.
“It was filed before us, so be it, that’s our job,” he said, referring to the Napolcom mandate to look into administrative complaints filed against policemen.
He said the Napolcom will coordinate with the NBI and other concerned agencies in the conduct of the investigation.
