Manila cop who pulled gun on curfew breakers now under custody — Eleazar

MANILA, Philippines —  A Manila police officer accused of pulling a gun on a group of teenagers who broke quarantine curfew is now under custody, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Saturday.

In a statement, PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar identified the accused officer as Corporal Medel Biloan, assigned to the intelligence section of the Manila Police District (MPD) Station 2 in Moriones, Tondo.

Biloan was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) video threatening to strike four male teenagers — aged 18, 17, 14, and 12 — with his gun on Friday, according to a separate report from the MPD.

The MPD quoted Biloan as saying: “Pag hindi kayo pumasok pupukpukin ko kayo ng baril sa ulo at pag naabutan ko kayo dadamputin ko kayo.”

(If you don’t go back to your homes, I will hit you with my gun and I will arrest you.)

Another CCTV footage later showed Biloan, now in civilian clothes, drinking liquor outside his house on Friday, said Eleazar. The police officer was also not wearing a mask at the time.

“The fact that he himself was violating the protocol when he was caught drinking and not wearing a face mask along the street was not only a violation of the quarantine rules and police protocols but also put the entire police organization in bad light,” Eleazar said in a statement.

Eleazar said Biloan was disarmed and is currently under the custody of the MPD which is also conducting an investigation.

A complaint for violation of RA 7610 or Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act was already filed against Biloan at the Manila Prosecutor’s Office, according to Eleazar.

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