Saturday, April 28, 2007 Makati mayor hits police official for arrest of 2 city workers
MAKATI Mayor Jejomar Binay on Friday asked Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos to punish Southern Police District (SPD) director Roberto Rosales and his men for "illegally arresting and detaining two City Government employees" while removing illegally-installed campaign posters last Thursday.
"I would like to bring to the attention of the Commission on Elections the unlawful arrest made by elements of the Southern Police District against two personnel of the Makati Department of Environmental Services who were removing campaign posters of local candidate Anthony Genuino that were posted outside the common poster area designated by the Comelec. As of this writing, the employees are still detained at the SPD headquarters in Taguig without any charges," said Binay's letter to Abalos.
Rosales however was unfazed by the complaint.
Binay also asked Abalos to penalize Rosales for condoning an illegal act by not ordering the arrest of 17 campaign supporters of Genuino who were pasting campaign posters outside the Comelec-designated areas in Barangay Olympia.
He further asked Abalos to compel Rosales to explain the basis for arresting Noli Aquino and Benjamin Dones even if Makati City police had reported that the City Hall employees and the supporters of Lakas bet Genuino had reached an agreement on where to place the posters.
Department of Environmental Services (DES) chief Danilo Villas, for his part, deplored the apprehension of his men saying that they are not playing favorites in the campaign to rid the city of any illegally-installed campaign materials.
"The DES has been very strict in enforcing the ordinance, especially since the start of the official campaign period last February. We do not discriminate between opposition and administration bets so there is no basis for anyone to say that we are favoring someone or the other," he said.
Binay said the incident only showed the impartiality of authorities against him, being a vocal opponent of the Arroyo administration.
Rosales, meanwhile, dismissed Binay's accusation and said the mayor can file charges against him. (AH/Sunnex)
