Tuesday, November 07, 2006 Soldiers file charges against Lapu cop, official over ‘mauling’
CRIMINAL and administrative charges were filed yesterday against a policeman and his senior officer for allegedly causing the mauling of four military servicemen and for detaining them without charges for almost 12 hours.
While PO2 James Ariel Fuentes was first to decry that it was he whom the servicemen beat up over a parking tiff last Thursday, the servicemen annexed medical reports detailing the extent of their injuries in the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
The medical reports tend to corroborate the servicemen’s claim that it was they who were beaten up at gunpoint by men acting upon the orders of Fuentes.
Slapped
The military men also alleged that one of them got slapped by Fuentes’ senior officer—Senior Insp. Florentino Clemente— after they were taken to the Lapu-Lapu City police station.
Of the four complaints, 2nd Lt. Edgardo Batinay, Cpl. Reynaldo Pallado and Pfc. Dimas Capinig belong to the Light Reaction Company (LRC). The LRC is considered to be the best trained, best armed and most combat ready unit under the Philippine Army.
The fourth is 2nd Lt. Randy Sotero of the Tactical Operations Center of the Philippine Air Force.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 is doing its own probe on the incident.
NBI 7 Director Medardo de Lemos, in an interview yesterday, said the bureau has issued subpoenas to both the servicemen and the policemen.
“We want them to give their own account of what happened, as well as the statements of their witnesses,” he said.
According to accounts from the Lapu-Lapu PNP side, the four were taken to the police station after they allegedly beat up Fuentes, who cited them for a traffic violation as they parked a multicab in the middle of Sangi Road, a busy stretch.
Fuentes has said bystanders who saw the incident rushed to help him and attacked the servicemen.
But when taken to the PNP Regional Office to see PRO 7 Director Silverio Alarcio Jr., journalists saw Fuentes without bruises. Newspaper photos and television video footage had Army men walking bandaged.
In their complaint, all four said they had just left the 626 Tapsilogan, a diner along the Maximo Patalinghug Ave., in their multicab when the incident happened.
‘Drunk’
They said a vehicle they described as resembling a Pajero blocked their path and out came an “apparently drunk” Fuentes demanding that Sotero, who was driving the multicab, present his driver’s license.
Sotero said Fuentes was not in uniform at that time so he handed his license over while asking who Fuentes was. He also identified himself as a serviceman.
“PO2 Fuentes quickly snatched my license and walked away from me such that I pursued him on the left side of the vehicle and asked him to give back my license,” Sotero said.
He got his license back and tried to return to the vehicle. But before he got there, Fuentes’ companions were already throwing punches at the three men he had left inside the multicab.
Batinay, in his affidavit, said it was Fuentes who gave the signal for his companions to disembark and attack them.
He said his two subordinates—Capinig and Pallado—threw themselves toward the attackers to cover for him and received the brunt of the assault.
Batinay said they did not fight back because they assumed the attackers were armed. They were also outnumbered.
He said Fuentes also accused them of not settling their bill at the eatery. And when somebody was able to show the receipt, Fuentes accused them of going out in public with guns.
“I immediately lifted up my T-shirt to show that I was unarmed. We are not allowed to bring firearms outside barracks and it is deposited in our company supply room,” Batinay said.
But he said Fuentes kicked him in the stomach and he fell to the ground.
Batinay said they were then hauled off to the Lapu-Lapu City PNP Office where Clemente slapped him on the face and told that “things are done differently in Cebu.” (KNR)
