Man spends Valentine’s Day in jail

A man who spent Valentine’s Day alone at a bar ended up in a Mandaluyong jail yesterday after he tried to leave without paying his bill.

He was identified as Ismael Abdulaup Manabilang, 40, a policeman who had gone AWOL (absent without leave). Case investigator SPO1 Emmanuel Ermino said Manabilang was taken to the Mandaluyong police headquarters where he remained detained.

He faces charges of estafa and falsification of documents.
Ermino said the man consumed food and drinks worth P1,371 at Poor Man’s Castle in Barangay Highway Hills and left without paying.

A waiter chased him but he refused to pay, saying he was a police official. He also showed the waiter a police identification card with a picture which did not resemble him.

Irked, the waiter called the police who arrested the man. A check made by the police showed that Manabilang has the rank of police officer 2 although he has not reported for work since 2007. Niña Calleja