7 cops dismissed, 4 demoted as Espina purges NCRPO of scalawags

Days after its chief went around the different districts calling on his men to shape up, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Thursday ordered the dismissal of seven policemen who are facing criminal charges and the demotion of four others for various grave offenses.

The dismissed personnel included Police Officer 1 Ollan Alexis de Guzman of the Regional Public Safety Battalion of the NCRPO;  PO1 Harold Meneses of Manila Police District; PO1 Rustico Gabuco of MPD’s Pandacan Police substation; and PO1 Ferdinand Pabilada, PO2 Glen Trani, PO2 Melchor Barolo and PO1 Arnold Baldonado, all of the MPD’s District Headquarters Support Unit (DHSU).

Demoted for grave misconduct were Senior Police Officer 2 Joseph Marayag, SPO1 Edgardo Buluran, SPO1 Fernando San Juan, and PO2 Pablo Basmayor, all of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

In a statement, NRCPO director Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina promised to continue weeding out scalawags from the service.

“My administration only needs true and dedicated cops, otherwise they do not belong in our ranks,” Espina said, reiterating his order to have pending cases of grave misconduct resolved within 30 days.

According to NCRPO records, PO1 Meneses was found guilty of homicide for shooting Mikael Troy Rasay on July 31, 2011, at the corner of Tomas Morato and Timog Avenue in South Triangle, Quezon City.

PO1 De Guzman, meanwhile, was dismissed based on a complaint from Elizabeth Ochoa for a robbery holdup incident that took place on Aug. 4, 2011, on M. H. Del Pilar Street, Barangay (village) Maysilo, Malabon City.

According to the complaint, Ochoa was with a friend waiting for a ride when a Toyota car stopped in front of them. De Guzman then got out of the vehicle and held Ochoa and her friend at gunpoint.

The policeman allegedly forced the two into the vehicle and took Ochoa’s cash amounting to P3,000.

The victim filed a criminal complaint against De Guzman in the Malabon Prosecutor’s Office but the officer repeatedly failed to appear despite a subpoena.

PO1 Gabuco was dismissed for shooting Jun King Mercado dead at the corner of Pacheco and Amethyst Street in Tondo, Manila, on March 27, 2012.

Gabuco had been marked absent without official leave (AWOL) three days before the killing.

Pabilada, Trani, Barolo and Baldonado were ordered dismissed for serious neglect of duty, also after going AWOL.

Marayag, Buluran, San Juan and Basmayor were demoted after being tagged in extortion complaints.