RESIDENTS of Sitio Aroma in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City accused the police of harassing teenage boys in the area on Saturday night, July 27, 2019.
The allegation was denied by P/Col. Jonathan Abella, the Mandaue City Police Office director.
In a gathering covered by media on Monday, July 29, the informal settlers, who are occupying a lot owned by a private company, reported that men in plain clothes arrived in Aroma last Saturday night.
On seeing the teenagers, the unidentified men barked at them to pull up their shirts; they frisked them.
The villagers believed that the men were police officers.
Abella disowned the men in civilian clothes. However, he admitted that he had ordered his personnel to check if there were loose firearms in Aroma, but he reminded them to wear their uniforms while conducting the inspection.
On the same night, policemen caught four men for illegal gambling and detained them at the Subangdaku Police Station.
The residents claimed that the “harassment” they experienced was part of the lot owner’s methods to evict them from the property. Each family had been offered P15,000 to vacate Aroma, but they refused as they were not assured of a relocation site.
Over 200 of the original 700 residents remain in Aroma.
More than 500 former Aroma residents had left the area with their families after accepting the private owner’s cash offer. (from ANV of SuperBalita Cebu/KAL)