MANILA, Philippines — Five Pasay City police officers were found guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention after a supposed anti-drug operation in March 2019 in Makati City.
The Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 148 decision, dated June 20 and was released on Friday, stated that Police Corporal Anwar Encarnacion Nasser, Lt. Ronaldo Frades, who used to be the officer-in-charge of Pasay’s Station Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU), S/Sgt. Rigor Octaviano, Pat. Anthony Fernandez, and Pat. John Mark Cruz, kidnapped and tried to extort money from a man who was arrested during a supposed anti-drug operation in Makati City.
Nasser and his fellow officers allegedly demanded P100,000 from the drug suspect’s live-in partner in exchange for the detained individual’s freedom.
The five police officers were arrested in an entrapment operation right inside the SDEU office.
The operation was conducted by the Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF), the precursor to the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG).
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“Nasser’s assertion constitutes alibi. It is a weak defense against positive identification,” the court said.
“The three accused assert an alibi to the effect that they were not present at the time of the alleged incident, and therefore could not have been therein. Their defense of alibi is a weak defense against positive identification, and all the accused were positively identified by the victims […],” it added.
As they were found guilty of violating Article 267 (kidnapping and serious illegal detention) of the Revised Penal Code, all suspects were sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.
All five are also asked to jointly restitute the CITF the amount of P100,000 and indemnify the victim in the amount of P50,000.
Both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCPRO) stressed that the conviction of the suspects is proof that the country’s police force serious drive against erring officers.
“This is also a proof that the PNP is taking action against rogue cops and that we don’t tolerate illegal deeds within the organization,” PNP said in a statement sent by Public Information Office (PIO) chief Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba on Friday.
“While the PNP IMEG (formerly CITF), and the rest of the units shall continue to police its own ranks and any complaint against a police officer will be addressed immediately,” Alba added.
NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Felipe Natividad also underscored that with the court’s decision, the country’s justice system is indeed working.
“We, in the PNP strongly abhors the undesirable conduct of the police scalawags. We mean discipline and we mean justice. In a case of five former Pasay police officers who demanded Php100,000 in exchange of a suspect’s liberty in March 2019, justice has been served,” Natividad said.
“These police officers were convicted and will now face the consequences of their actions. Indeed, the justice system in our country is working, it applies to all. Without fear or favor, even cops who circumvent the law will be arrested, charged and convicted,” he added.