Relief of 8 Antique cops gets slay probe going

ILOILO CITY — Eight police officers of San Jose, Antique province, including the capital town’s police chief, had been relieved of their duties amid an investigation of what was being suspected as the summary executions of two men who had fought with a police officer in a bar brawl and accused of stealing his gun and wallet.

Supt. Gilbert Gorero, spokesperson of the Western Visayas police, said Senior Insp. Marc Dado, acting chief of police of San Jose, was relieved of duty on March 25, along with seven of his subordinates.

Dado was transferred to the regional public holding and accounting unit of the regional police in Camp Martin Delgado here.

His seven subordinates were transferred to the headquarters of the Antique provincial police in San Jose.

Impartial probe

They were SPO2 Pedro Escare Jr., PO3 Rene Mesobre, PO1 Riebert Pio Mones, PO1 Harold Baldestamon, PO1 Epigenio June Dioso II, PO1 Reynald Villacarlos and PO1 Mark Anthony Jalando-on.

Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, Western Visayas police director, ordered the administrative relief of the police officers to pave the way for an impartial investigation, Gorero said.

He said the relief order was issued after an initial investigation of the killings of San Jose residents Kenneth Henry Tabaranggao and Vidal Allado, following their involvement in a bar brawl with PO2 Dennis Corcolla.

Tabaranggao and Allado had been accused of beating up Corcolla and stealing the cop’s wallet and handgun.
The two were later killed in a supposed gunfight with police officers.

Relatives’ version

A team of San Jose police officers, led by the town police chief Dado, ran after Tabaranggao and Allado after they allegedly beat up Corcolla but the two men opened fire, forcing police officers to return fire.

Investigators said two handguns and sachets of “shabu” (crystal meth) were found in the possession of Tabaranggao and Allado.

The two men’s families, however, said Corcolla had been unruly at the bar, which led to the brawl.

Tabaranggao and Allado, according to their relatives, were on their way to the town police station to turn over Corcolla’s gun.

San Jose Mayor Elmer Untaran said he requested the investigation because of “public perception” raising doubt over the police version of the killings.