‘If a senior police officer fears for his life and is intimidated, how much more the ordinary Cebuanos?’
THERE is a breakdown of peace and order in a given locality when the police themselves are involved in criminal activities. Another indication of such collapse is when incidence of crime is high, along with the number of crimes committed that remain unsolved.
In Cebu City, the low morale of policemen and the inability of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to keep maintain peace are just symptoms of an even greater problem of governance. Cebu province is no different, with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia calling a press conference this week and airing her complaint that the Office of the Governor is being bypassed in decisions about police matters. She also vowed to seriously push the fight against drugs abuse.
Meanwhile, one police problem leads to another in this locality. Richie Nepomuceno, 35, who cried rape and filed a string of charges against 11 policemen, was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding murderers in Barangay Basak-Pardo last Monday evening.
Nepomuceno had accused the 11 cops of threatening and extorting money from her. She also accused Staff Sgt. Celso Colita or raping her twice in a motel.
In an unexpected twist to the case, Colita allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head inside the comfort room of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Group office. This sad incident occurred about 3 hours after Nepomuceno was gunned down.
The series of disconcerting incidents in Cebu’s police organization is an ongoing telenovela. This is because the head of the unit investigating Nepomuceno’s charges against the 11 cops — Police Maj. Alejandro Batobalonos — said he now fears for his life. If a senior police officer fears for his life and is intimidated, how much more the ordinary Cebuanos?
Batobalonos is chief of the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enhancement Group-Visayas Field Unit (IMEG-VFU). It is part of his job to assist Nepomuceno and other complainants in filing criminal charges against the 11 policemen from the Sawang Police Calero Station in Cebu City, following an investigation. Now Batobalonos said he is “worried over my security.”
Police Col. Josefino Ligan, chief of the Cebu City Police Office, is working on the angle that Nepomuceno had taken over the drug business of her live-in partner who is currently detained in jail for drug trafficking. There is also the love triangle that they are studying in connection with the case.
Whatever it is, Colonel Ligan — together with the mayor of Cebu and the governor of the province — should take all the relevant emergency measures to stem the tide of total breakdown of peace and order.
