Suspended Caloocan top cop cleared of allegation
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has ordered the reinstatement of Caloocan police chief Senior Supt. Bartolome Bustamante who was earlier suspended on allegations of mishandling police funds.
In an interview on Monday at his office, Bustamante said that NCRPO chief Director Joel Pagdilao ordered his return to his post on June 3.
This was after allegations that he withheld part of the allowance allocated for the city’s policemen who served during the May 9 elections were not proven, he added.
Bustamante was ordered relieved on May 16 after a text message from a rookie policeman was widely circulated, claiming he distributed only part of the P1,500 election allowance for policemen.
According to the accuser, the Caloocan police chief gave just P800 to each of the 1,251 policemen deployed throughout the city on Election Day.
In his defense, Bustamante said that the Philippine National Police released the funding for the incentive on a piecemeal basis—on April 28 and then on May 4 and 13.
“I am really thankful for the vindication and the speedy investigation. I prayed for this. I prayed that my name will be cleared,” he said.
“That was a very humbling experience. We are just soldiers here but I fought this out and I won,” Bustamante added.
