A message to my sister
Director Oscar Albayalde, Metro Manila police chief, has been pussyfooting in a theft case in Pasay City involving an estimated P1.3 million which some policemen reportedly recovered from the thieves but didn’t turn over to its owner.
The money was inside a bag placed in a car parked along Arnaiz Street. It was taken by three boys and two adult males.
The amount was in P300,000, $7,000 and 10,000 euro bills. Also in the bag were three cell phones, documents, ATM cards and passbooks.
The police have identified the culprits through the CCTV cameras in the area. They are notorious characters as their photos appear in the station’s rogues gallery.
When the owner, businessman Inocencio Tan, reported the theft to Police Community Precinct (PCP) 3, he was referred to the investigation division at the Pasay police headquarters which, in turn, said the case should be handled by the women and children’s protection unit.
Tan was passed around like a basketball from one unit to another.
All the while, the money had already been recovered, as our investigation through “Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo” showed.
Tan came to us for help after the Pasay police didn’t act on his complaint.
It was only after “Isumbong” intervened that the police recovered P6,000 and $1,100 from the culprits.
The culprits were also charged upon our prodding.
We gathered from our own investigation that the amount was intact when the police arrested the suspects.
PCP 3 commander Chief Insp. Remedios Terte has been relieved of her post but we later learned that she was transferred to another precinct.
When I asked Director Albayalde if Terte was being punished for negligence, he said he left the decision to Senior Supt. Dionisio Bartolome, Pasay police chief.
Yesterday, Albayalde told this columnist that he would have Terte investigated at the regional headquarters.
Big deal!
Albayalde should have immediately acted on the theft case after I informed him about it on Sept. 7.
I was told in confidence by some officials in Barangay 88 that Terte was allegedly protecting the culprits who stole the P1.3 million.
And yet Albayalde, up until yesterday, had not ordered Terte and the other policemen who recovered the money investigated.
It seems Albayalde is as incompetent as his classmate at the Philippine Military Academy, Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the PNP chief.
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My sister, Tourism Secretary Wanda T. Teo, protested my criticism of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II whom I called incompetent in this space on Thursday, Sept. 14.
This was the text message I sent to my sister late Thursday night:
“Wanda, I’m just doing my job as a journalist. If (President) Digong fails as president, I fail as a columnist. His success is my success, his failure is also mine. When everybody was going about their business many years ago, I encouraged Digong to run because I knew deep in my heart he was THE only one who could save this country from ruin. I am just jolting some officials from their stupor. Wanda, I love Digong more than a brother. He stood by me when I was being oppressed by (former first gentleman) Mike Arroyo. He invited me to go to Davao City if I sensed that my life was in danger in Manila.”
