Cabamongan
“Who [is] he?”
This was the reaction of Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa to the claim of a police official arrested last week for drugs that he might end up being killed in his cell like Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr.
According to Dela Rosa, Supt. Lito Cabamongan has nothing to fear from the PNP and should instead be more concerned about the other inmates in the Las Piñas cell whom he maltreated.
“Who is he that there would be interest in him? I think there’s no [threat]. It might turn out that his fellow inmates whom he kicked could be more interested [in him],” Dela Rosa told reporters on Monday.
“Those people might lose patience with him. That is why before I left, I told the detainees not to harm [Cabamongan] because they will answer to me if anything happens to him,” he added.
Cabamongan, the head of the PNP Crime Laboratory satellite office in Alabang, Muntinlupa, was arrested on March 30 after he was caught in a “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) session with a woman at Everlasting Homes in Las Piñas City.
“He should not worry because we [are not] interested in him. We just want him out of the service,” Dela Rosa said as he added: “Just think about it—a colonel caught in a pot session.”
Cabamongan tested positive for shabu on Thursday in a drug test conducted at the PNP Crime Laboratory in Camp Crame. The results of the confirmatory test are expected this week. The PNP Internal Affairs Service has also launched a formal investigation into his alleged drug activities.
“We will wait for the confirmatory test results and [if he tests positive], he will be charged and there will be a summary hearing,” Dela Rosa said.
He added that Cabamongan might not have tested positive in drug tests administrated regularly by the PNP because he probably used “small amounts” of shabu.
“This was the explanation of Crime Lab [officials]. Even if a person uses shabu every day but he consumes only very small amounts, that will not really result in the contamination of his blood. So, when his urine is checked, it won’t be detected,” Dela Rosa explained.
Espinosa, a suspected drug lord, was shot dead by policemen inside the Baybay, Leyte subprovincial jail on Nov. 5, 2016, when he reportedly fired upon them first using a hidden firearm. The National Bureau of Investigation, however, called his killing a rubout and filed murder charges against the policemen involved.