Lapses inspire councilor to seek NBI help

Monday, February 6, 2012

THE culprit behind the Cebu City Sports Complex (CCSC) robbery still remains free and a Cebu City councilor already wants the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to participate and assist the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).

Councilor Edgardo Labella said the NBI’s help should already be sought considering the “loopholes” in the investigation of the police, particularly the Theft and Robbery Section of CCPO, about the incident where close to P1.7-million of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) fund was lost.

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The loopholes in the CCPO’s investigation are the reasons the Cebu City Prosecution Office dismissed the qualified theft complaint filed by the police against CCSC security guard Joselyndon Jabagat.

The prosecution office said the charges against Jabagat were founded only on “mere insinuations and suspicions” and that his perceived negligence during the robbery does not constitute competent evidence.

Lapses

In quoting the resolution of the Cebu City Prosecution Office, Labella said the police complaint named a certain Rosita Velasco as the arresting officer when she was only a utility worker of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. and who never claimed to have arrested Jabagat.

The complaint also provided that two policemen—SPO4 Jaime Toring and SPO2 Henry Estoy—executed a joint affidavit where they said they were the arresting officers of Jabagat, but it turned out that they don’t have personal knowledge of the crime.

Also, no photographs were presented by CCPO in the inquest proceedings to show physical appearance of the vault and establish the modus operandi.

“The above-cited lapses in the investigation of the robbery now make it more pressing that the original theory of an inside job be pursued and the assistance of another law enforcement agency be sought,” Labella, who chairs the Council’s committee on laws, said in a proposed resolution.

Welcome

Sought for comment, CCPO Director Ramon Melvin Buenafe said they will welcome the help from NBI in their investigation.

As in the past, Buenafe said both CCPO and NBI have since been working together in solving crime cases.

“So it will not really be something new,” he said.

Asked about their lapses in the dismissal of the complaint, Buenafe in an earlier interview, said they only investigated, took testimonies of witnesses and filed a case before the court.

He said it is not their job to prove Jabagat was guilty beyond reasonable doubt, adding that they have nothing personal against the security guard.

Last Jan. 16, a day after the Sinulog grand parade, the administration office of the CCSC was burglarized and the culprit took P1.68-million of SFI funds.