Solon learns of drug suspects’ eerie kidnappings before buy-busts

(AFP FILE PHOTO)

Updated 5:40 p.m.

MANILA, Philippines —Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop has revealed that more people claiming to have been kidnapped by police officers during anti-drug operations have contacted him.

During Thursday’s House committee hearing on public order and safety, Acop’s opening statement mentioned his callers have experiences similar to those narrated at the panel’s March 22, 2023 hearing.

Acop’s callers were from Bulacan and Tagaytay. Before the buy-bust operation, the drug suspects were boarded into a car that drove around the city, which is against Philippine National Police guidelines.

“After nakita or naipalabas sa Facebook ‘yong hearing na ‘yon, my office has received a call from a citizen of, resident of Bulacan, under the jurisdiction of Congressman Boy Cruz. Sinasabi na gano’n din ang nangyari sa kanilang kamag-anak,” Acop said.

(After the hearing was shown on Facebook, my office received a call from a citizen of, resident of Bulacan, under the jurisdiction of Congressman Boy Cruz, who said a relative went through the same thing.)

He added, “I received a call from somebody from Tagaytay. Sinasabi na gano’n din ‘yong nangyayari.  And one from Makati. Kinuha sila sa Makati. Sa Parañaque nangyari ‘yong buy-bust.”

(I received a call from somebody from Tagaytay. They said they also experienced the same circumstances.  And one was from Makati. They were abducted in Makati, but the buy-bust operation happened in Parañaque.)

Upon being inquired by the committee chairperson and Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez about the alleged abduction in Antipolo, Acop confirmed that it was a different unit in question.

“No (it’s another team).  Ganon ang nangyayari na, and there were again two reported incidents ng mga relatives sa akin — one from the Taytay Police Station and one from the Antipolo Police Station.  Gano’n rin ang nangyari sa kanila,” he recounted.

(That’s what was happening already, and two reported incidents were again told to me by my relatives – one from Taytay Police Station and one from Antipolo Police Station. The same thing happened to them.)

“Isang tao sa political jurisdiction niya tumawag sa aking opisina at nire-relay na gano’n din ang nangyari sa kamag-anak niya.  So I called up Congressman Boy Cruz and gave the name of the individual, (I said) ‘ikaw na mag-attend d’yan. Di ko na jurisdiction ‘yan,’” Acop said.

(A person inside his political jurisdiction called me saying that it also happened to their relative.  So I called up Congressman Boy Cruz and gave the individual’s name, (I said) ‘he should attend to it. It is already outside my jurisdiction.’)

Ma. Victoria Perito, who was arrested on October 13, 2022, was taken from near a barber shop in Antipolo’s Barangay San Roque while she was with her eight-year-old son just after class dismissal. During the March 22 hearing, it was revealed that the cops, manning a sports utility vehicle, allegedly hit Perito and asked her to admit to trading illegal drugs for at least two hours.

During the hearing, Acop raised doubts about the police’s account of the arrest of Perito. Porciuncula, the head of the operations team, claimed that the arrest was made at 10:30 p.m. However, Acop presented a closed circuit television (CCTV) footage contradicting this claim, showing plainclothes individuals capturing Perito at 6:30 p.m. near the City Hall.

READ: Antipolo cops grilled for ‘abduction’ of drug suspects, lying before House panel 

Acop cited similarities between the case of fired Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo, the anti-drug officer caught in Tondo, Manila, in October 2022 with almost a ton of methamphetamine, and the current case being examined by the House committee on dangerous drugs. During the hearing, discrepancies in Mayo’s arrest were brought to light, as police officers claimed he was captured on October 8, 2022, while other reports indicated that the arrest took place on October 9.

RELATED STORIES

Acop rebukes ex-PDEG chief for claiming House hearing may influence cases vs Mayo
Lawmakers are perplexed why Mayo has more ‘shabu’ than drug lords

APL/abc