A POLICE officer who was convicted of killing a robbery suspect and who previously served as a Cebu City mayor’s bodyguard will be released once he posts bail.
On Facebook, Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña posted images of a Court of Appeals (CA) resolution, which he captioned, “Happy birthday, Adonis Dumpit! I have a really nice present for you.”
The CA 20th Division’s resolution came less than a year after PO3 Dumpit was convicted of homicide. He will need to post P250,000 as bail and appear in court whenever summoned, according to the document.
Dumpit cannot leave the country while his appeal is pending.
In a phone interview yesterday, his 52nd birthday, Dumpit said that once he is released on bail, he will visit his 83-year-old mother Liwayway in Davao Oriental and then ask if he can be reinstated in the Philippine National Police.
“Apil siguro birthday gift, salamat sa Ginoo (Perhaps this is a birthday gift. Thank God),” said Dumpit. He said he had just finished praying the rosary, a daily ritual, when he learned about the CA’s resolution.
Interviewed separately, Osmeña confirmed he owns the Facebook account where images of the resolution were posted. He also said he is willing to help Dumpit with bail, if the officer has insufficient funds.
“Yes, I might pay either by surety bond because it’s cheaper or cash. We will see,” said the mayor-elect, who defeated Mayor Michael Rama in last Monday’s elections.
He said he has been taking care of Dumpit’s case, which is why his lawyers furnished him with a copy of the CA resolution.
Asked why he will shoulder Dumpit’s bail, Osmeña said he believes the officer is innocent. But when asked whether he would hire Dumpit as his bodyguard again, Osmeña joked, “I will be his bodyguard.”
Dumpit was charged with murder for the shooting of robbery suspect Ronron Go last Dec. 14, 2004. Regional Trial Court Judge Ester Veloso downgraded the case to homicide in August last year.
Go had allegedly robbed two jeepney passengers in the North Reclamation Area on that day. Dumpit was sentenced to serve time for six to nine years and to pay Go’s family P50,000.
On May 22, he will have spent a year inside the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog City.
He expects his son Norman, 22, to visit him today.
Dumpit is optimistic he will reinstated to the police service because the administrative case against him had been dismissed.
Dumpit is one of more than 2,000 detainees in an 800-hectare open property fenced with barbed wires. There are no individual cells.
Would he be interested to work in Cebu City Hall? “Ako usa na hunahunaon (I have to think about that first),” Dumpit said.