Friday, September 21, 2007 Cop chief hands off on ‘sex in barracks’ issue By Gil Alfredo B. Severino
NEGROS Occidental Provincial Police Provincial Office (Noppo) Director Rosendo Franco said his office cannot act on incidents related to the private sexual lives of his policemen.
He said he or his office has no business intruding upon the private lives of others, including his policemen and the women.
Franco reacted over the recent report involving his policemen, an intelligence officer at that, in a “sex scandal” inside the police barracks of Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Camingawan, Bacolod.
The policeman is married and his alleged woman-partner is also married to a seaman.
The two agreed to install a video camera inside their mating room at the police barracks until it was discovered the other day.
“In the event that a complaint is lodged against any erring policemen, I have to carefully evaluate whether my office has jurisdiction over the complaints. We have to decide on the basis of evidence contained in the complaint,” Franco said.
“I’ve nothing to do with the sex in the barracks issue,” he added.
Franco also said: “I have to be careful because it sounds like the encounter happened in private. We have rules governing the privacy of a policeman.”
When asked that the lady partner of the policeman in the video goes in and out of the camp, Franco clarified, “The camp is open to all citizens. Gate guards are bound to prohibit only those who are carrying deadly weapons or are threats to the internal security of the camp.”
“As to whether the lady has an affair with any of the Noppo policeman inside the camp is already way beyond the capacity of gate guards or my office for that matter,” Franco added.
“Neither has anyone of us here has authority to ask all lady entrants of their private intentions,” he said.
In case there’s a complaint filed against his policeman regarding the scandal, he said he is also willing to do an investigation.
