Bohol cop faces raps over robbery complaints

INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

TAGBILARAN CITY — A policeman in Bohol is facing a string of charges over his alleged involvement in robbery incidents in the province.

Staff Sergeant Conchito Payac Jr., 33, was arrested by police in a hot pursuit operation around 1 p.m. on Dec. 17 in Barangay Tagum, Trinidad town.

The arrest came a few minutes after he allegedly robbed a gasoline station in Barangay Poblacion in Trinidad.

Payac, assigned at Dauis Police Station, did not resist arrest.

Seized from him were his service firearm–a 9 mm Glock pistol; a Yamaha motorcycle without a plate number; and P8,000 cash.

Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Batuan, Bohol Provincial Police Office director, said the cashier and pump boys of the robbed gasoline station identified Payac.

Payac was behind the robberies on Dec. 1 and 7 in Alicia and Duero, respectively, police investigation showed.

Batuan instructed the police chiefs in Alicia and Duero to assist the victims in filing cases against the Payac.

“We assure the public that police officer Payac will face the consequences of his actions — both criminal and administrative cases,” Batuan said.

Complaints of robbery with intimidation and violence against persons were readied against Payac.

Batuan said Payac was engaged in illegal gambling, particularly cockfighting.

He said the investigators did not know that Payac was involved in robbery until they received reports about his illegal activities.

They immediately conducted a surveillance against him and backtracked on his past activities.

Lieutenant Colonel Joemar Pomarejos, chief of the Provincial Intelligence Unit of the BPPO, said they found Payac robbing the gasoline station in Barangay Poblacion.

Pomarejos said the motorcycle and helmet that Payac used in the Dec. 1 and Dec. 7 robberies were similar to the ones he used in the Poblacion robbery.

The arrest of Payac serves as a warning to other cops involved in illegal activities, Brigadier General Roderick Augustus Alba, director of the Central Visayas police, said.

“There is no room for illegal activities in the (police) organization, particularly … cockfight gambling,” he said in a statement.

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