DOJ probes Caloocan cops for including minor in illegal raid

The 13 Caloocan City policemen caught on a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera robbing a house during an illegal raid on Sept. 7 will be investigated for child abuse by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Monday that he had ordered the DOJ task force on child protection to probe the police officers for letting a minor tag along during the operation which was conducted without a search warrant.

The footage taken from the CCTV camera in Gina Erobas’ house showed the policemen, who were in civilian clothes, allowing the boy to pocket valuables worth around P26,000.

Also with the group was a man with a clubfoot wearing a police vest.

According to Aguirre, he has ordered the DOJ task force “to file the necessary charges” against the lawmen. “Cases of child abuse should be punished to the full extent of the law,” he said.

Last Friday, the National Capital Region Police Office relieved the entire Caloocan police force composed of about 1,200 police officers because of the illegal house raid and the suspicious deaths of teenagers Kian Loyd delos Santos and Carl Angelo Arnaiz during anticriminality operations in August.