Sunday, April 16, 2006
Minors mistaken as rebels file child abuse raps vs cops
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
TWO minors, who compose what is now more popularly known as the "Punks 11," have filed child abuse charges against the policemen who arrested them for mistaking them for communist rebels before the Benguet Provincial Prosecutor's Office.
Those charged were Benguet Provincial Police Director Villamor Bumanglag, Provincial Police Mobile Group chief Brent Madjaco, and their men Joseph Paulo Bayongasan, Alyson Kalang-ed, Jonathan Pucya, Wendell Baglao and James Ayan Jr.
The case was aside from the criminal charges filed earlier against policemen for alleged violation of Republic Act (RA) 7438 or the law pertaining to the rights of persons arrested, detained and under custodial investigation and an administrative complaint filed with the National Police Commission (Napolcom).
In a complaint, Frencess Ann and Ray Lester said the policemen apprehended them "without a warrant of arrest and detained them without any valid reason on Feb. 14, 2006."
They accused the policemen of "conspiring and confederating together and mutually helping one another, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously subjected them to verbal and physical abuse, torture, cruelty, emotional maltreatment in violation of RA7610."
Ann said she was forced to accede against her free will to the policemen's insistence that she was a member of the New People's Army (NPA) even if she was not.
Ann, Lester and nine others asked for the dismissal from the service of the policemen. They said the accused-policemen should be placed under preventive suspension so that they could not influence the ongoing investigation of the cases.
(April 16, 2006 issue)
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