Cop linked to robberies tagged anew in FX holdup

A police officer who remains in active duty despite various charges filed against him in court is now the target of a manhunt  after another complainant surfaced to accuse him of robbery, according to the Manila Police District.

The MPD, which has jurisdiction over the latest incident, identified the officer as P03 Abraham Mamicao, a former MPD member now reporting to the Pateros police.

Mamicao was positively identified by a woman as one of the two men who held up passengers in an FX taxi plying Taft Avenue on the night of May 6, said SPO1 James Poso of the MPD’s General Assignments Section.

Poso cited records showing that Mamicao had been charged earlier in the Manila prosecutor’s office for robbery and illegal possession of firearms. The complaints were based on statements taken from victims Argie Rivera, Erliza Barnaja and Ivy Cinco.

In the latest robbery, one of the victimized passengers, Lorna Calimag, recognized Mamicao from photos of crime suspects shown by the MPD.

“Based on our records, he is still on active duty. Mamicao was assigned in the MPD before he was transferred to the Pateros police,’’ Poso said.

Calimag pointed to Mamicao as one of the two armed men who took her cash and valuables worth P89,000 while they were in an FX  taxi passing through Taft Avenue near the corner of Pedro Gil Street in Manila’s Ermita area.

Based on court records, the Pateros policeman was arrested for robbery in March 2011 and was released on a P100,000 bail, Poso added.

He was also charged with illegal possession of firearms and again was able to post bail at P80,000 as set by Assistant City Prosecutor Minerva De Guzman.

Mamicao was once arrested and held at a police station under the Southern Police District for allegedly robbing a 21-year-old student from Cavite province at the corner of  J. Nakpil and P.H. Lim streets in Malate, also in Manila.

The officer apparently worked with different partners, Poso said. “Some of the complainants said they used a motorbike, while the other victims encountered them in a public utility  vehicle.’’

In 2008, Mamicao was also accused of bribing security guards who came to arrest him for allegedly robbing a couple on a parking lot in Malate, Poso said.