PNP suspends license of security firm in Stradcom fiasco

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police has cancelled the license of a security agency involved in last December’s attempted forcible takeover of the Stradcom Corp. office, which resulted in a six-hour standoff that paralyzed operations at the headquarters of the Land Transportation Office in Quezon City.

The PNP’s Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (SOSIA) said on Saturday it revoked the operational license of the Unilateral Security and Safety Solutions Inc. (USSSI), whose guards participated in the takeover attempt.

SOSIA, the office that regulates and oversees the operations of private security firms, said it reached the decision after “thorough investigations on the incident which had caused huge loss to the operations” of the LTO.

“We will not tolerate the abuse of power by security agencies that pose a danger to public order and safety,” the SOSIA head, Chief Superintendent Samuel Diciano, said in a statement.

“We cannot afford to undermine the public’s perception and confidence not only in security agencies but in the government,” Diciano added.

In the small hours of December 9, some 30 uniformed and non-uniformed security guards belonging to USSSI raided and took over the Stradcom office inside the LTO Compound led by Bonifacio Sumbilla and Aderito Yujuico, whom SOSIA described as “usurpers.”

The two earlier claimed that they were the new owners of Stradcom Corp., the LTO’s exclusive provider of information technology services. Under a contract that expires in 2013, Stradcom maintains the records and transactions of all LTO agencies nationwide.

Stradcom Corp.’s current management, led by executive Cezar Quiambao, accused the other party of falsifying documents to mislead the public into believing that the company’s leadership had changed.

The company later accused the LTO chief, Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres, who has since taken a leave of absence, of being behind the takeover attempt, a charge she denied.