Jailed cop saved from inmates he hurt earlier

The Pasay City policeman charged with raping a woman and extorting money from her boyfriend had to be transferred to another detention facility to keep him safe from the inmates he allegedly maltreated in the past, the INQUIRER learned on Wednesday.

PO1 Jonathan Castro was moved from the Pasay City jail to the Metro Manila District Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City, as requested by the warden, Supt. Brendan Fulgencio.

In a letter sent Friday last week to Pasay Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Edwin Ramizo, Fulgencio said Castro was considered “a high-risk detainee” and that the city jail personnel “cannot ensure his safety from other detainees whom he had arrested when he was still active as a police officer.”

Fulgencio added that Castro’s transfer would be “for his safety and security” and would also serve as “a preemptive measure to avoid the occurrence of any untoward incident, considering that his continued stay at Pasay City Jail is detrimental … to the smooth operation of this facility.”

The warden’s request was approved that same day by First Vice Executive Judge Racquelen Abary-Vasquez.

Sources said Castro, who was arrested on Jan. 26 hours after the alleged rape, received threats from his fellow inmates on his first day in detention.

“He is known to hurt and force arrested suspects, like ‘snatchers,’ into admitting the charges against them,” according to a jail insider. “Now the very same people he had thrown in jail are after him.”

Castro is facing charges for allegedly raping a woman in a police car on Merville Access Road in the wee hours of Jan. 26. Together with his buddy, PO1 Marvin Panaga, he is also accused of extorting money from her boyfriend.

The woman filed a complaint saying Castro forced her to “make up” for the money that her boyfriend could not produce after the latter was arrested by the two officers for “urinating in public” and for allegedly carrying a packet of “shabu.”