A police station commander was relieved of his post Tuesday after he failed to comply with a directive from National Capital Region Police Office director Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina that policemen should be at the scene of a crime within two minutes.
As a result, Manila Police District (MPD) head Chief Superintendent Alejandro Gutierrez immediately axed MPD Station 8 commander Superintendent Frumencio Bernal. This was after his men failed to respond to a robbery in a house which was just near the station.
“The robbery happened early in the morning and they failed to respond within two minutes,” Gutierrez said.
He added that Bernal had committed other lapses and the robbery in a house which was on the same street as the police station was the last straw.
A family, their driver and housemaid were robbed and tied up inside their house on Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard in Sta. Mesa at 6:15 a.m. Monday. Romeo Patrimonio, 65, driver of the Abellanosa family, said he had just finished cleaning the family car when eight armed men entered the gate.
One of them hit him in the head with a firearm and dragged him inside the house where they found Manuel Abellanosa, 53, his wife and their two daughters.
They tied everyone up but left alone the couple’s son who had locked himself in his room. The robbers ransacked the house and took P247,000 worth of valuables which included laptop computers, cameras, cell phones, jewelry, watches and cash. Erika Sauler