CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is offering a reward for anyone who can identify the persons who mauled a suspected drug pusher in what appears as a police operation in Barangay Talamban on Maundy Thursday, April 18.
He said he will give P100,000 for every person identified.
Click here to watch the CCTV footage.
In his official Facebook page, Osmeña questioned the operation made by the alleged police officers and vowed that those who were shown in the video mauling three men will be held responsible.
He also challenged Police Regional Office-Central Visayas Director Debold Sinas and Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Royina Garma to explain the operation.
"Gen. Sinas and Col. Garma, 'legitimate police operation' napud ni?" Osmeña said, in his Facebook post on April 25.
He said he plans to write to the CCPO to demand the details of the operation.
"In official capacity, I will be writing to the CCPO demanding the details of this 'operation,' in the same manner I did for the illegal raid on Captain Jojo Quijano’s house and for the incidents of harassment in the mountain barangays of Agsungot and Buot Taup. As with the previous letters, I do not expect a proper reply, but at least it will be on record that the police’s leadership are in contempt of the Mayor’s authority as granted by Republic Acts 6975 and 8551 and charges will be filed," Osmeña added.
SunStar Cebu and Superbalita Cebu received a copy of the footage showing six to eight armed men mauling three persons, one of them was later identified as Eddie Basillote.
Based on a police report secured by SunStar Cebu, operatives of the Station Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) of the Talamban Police Station arrested Basillote in a drug bust in Sitio Nasipit, Barangay Talamban.
Police recovered six small packs of substance believed to be shabu from Basillote, who was charged for possessing and selling of illegal drugs earlier this week.
But acting Talamban Police chief Major Elizandro Quijano denied it was his men in the video, while Garma said she has not received any report on police brutality but she encouraged those aggrieved to file a complaint. (JKV/MVG)