Sen. Raffy Tulfo during one of the hearings in the Senate. Senate PRIB file photo / Joseph Vidal
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Raffy Tulfo said charges must be filed against the police chief in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya, stressing that the ambush-slay of Appari vice mayor Rommel Alameda and five others would not have happened if the local police did their jobs.
On February 19, 2023, unidentified men dressed in police uniforms gunned down Alameda and his five companions.
In a Senate hearing held Monday, Tulfo criticized Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya chief of police Major Oscar Abrogena for his alleged “inefficiency,” saying that the incident could have been prevented if only the officer, accompanied by his team, conducted a patrol.
“Siguro, dapat itong chief of police ng Bagabag ay imbestigahan at makasuhan. Maybe, ang pinakamababa ay for inefficiency,” said Tulfo.
(Maybe, this chief of police of Bagabag should be investigated and charged. Maybe, the lowest is for inefficiency.)
“Kasi if you just do your job na dapat ay nagpapatrolya, nakita niyo sana ang checkpoint na ‘yun at sinita niyo. Now, hindi mo ginawa ‘yun at hindi ginawa ng bata mo. In the name of command responsibility, you should be held responsible. Kung ako ang tatanungin, dapat pati ikaw ay imbestigahan,” said Tulfo.
(Because if you do your job…. it would be best to patrol. You would have seen that checkpoint and could have called it out. Now, you didn’t do that, and your officers did not do it. In the name of command responsibility, you should be held responsible. You should also be investigated if I am the one to be questioned.)
The inquiry was prompted by Senate Resolution No. 728, filed by Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
The measure states that the late vice mayor and his companions were on the way to Appari in a black Hyundai Starex vehicle when they were ambushed by six gunmen in Sitio Kinacao in Barangay Baretbet at 8 in the morning.
The resolution likewise bared that the culprits blocked the highway in front of MV Duque Elementary School by putting up a barricade on the road. Long and short firearms were used on the victims upon their approach.
During the hearing, Tulfo called out the checkpoint scheme established by the Philippine National Police (PNP), calling it useless, for the officers only check motorcycles and not four-wheeled vehicles. He likewise stressed that police mobile cars must be in constant patrols instead of being stationed only in one place.
“Kung ginagawa lang po [ito] ng ating kapulisan sa probinsya kung saan pinaslang si vice mayor Alameda, baka nahuli itong mga culprits. It’s about time na gawin ng mga kapulisan ang trabaho nila [at laging mag] patrol,” he added.
(If our police were only doing this in the province where vice mayor Alameda was murdered, the culprits would have been caught. It’s about time the police officers do their job and always patrol.)
Ending his opening statement, Tulfo expressed his ire over PNP Spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo after the latter stated that no PNP members were involved in the said ambush.
The lawmaker questioned this, asking how Fajardo could be so certain. He added that Fajardo should not “open her mouth unless she’s very sure.”
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