Palace lauds relief of ‘secret cell’ police chief

A secret room where detainees are held at Manila Police Station 1 in Tondo. PHOTO BY RAFFY LERMA

Malacañang welcomed on Friday the relief of the chief of a Manila police station found to have a secret detention cell where arrested drug suspects have been held.

“We commend Police Director Oscar Albayalde, Regional Director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) of the Philippine National Police (PNP), for acting decisively and ordering the administrative relief of the Manila Police District Station Commander 1 and directing the Regional Internal Affairs Service to conduct an investigation,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

Supt. Roberto Domingo, chief of the Raxabago drug detention unit in Tondo, was ordered relieved Friday morning and replaced by his deputy, Chief Inspector Gilbert Cruz.

Abella declined to comment further on the issue pending the investigation of the case.

“The report of the investigation will be forthcoming and only then do we release further comment on the matter,” he said.

Lawyers from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) found a dozen men and women detained in a secret cell behind a shelf in a Manila police station. IDL/rga