THE Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 has declared that it will not condone the actions of two police officers from the Mandaue City Police Office who were recently arrested for separate criminal offenses in Cebu City.
PSSgt. Sergeant Niesel Arizo Pescante was apprehended at 11:15 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2025, in a buy-bust operation conducted by members of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit 7 along C. Padilla St. in Barangay Mambaling.
Police operatives confiscated suspected shabu with an estimated value of P408,000 from Pescante.
In a separate incident, PCpl. Ivan Gabutan Labra was arrested in Barangay Sapangdaku, after allegations surfaced that he caused a disturbance and brandished a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
No one above the law
PCol. Arvie Aserre Paraon-Bueno, spokesman for PRO 7 Director PBGEN Redrico Maranan, said the law is applied equally to everyone, including members of the police force.
He said Maranan has a strict stance against erring personnel and will subject those who commit illegal acts to disciplinary actions, including the filing of criminal and administrative cases, which could lead to their dismissal from service.
“The law is implemented equally, and our regional director will not condone whatever recent wrongdoings our police officers have committed,” Bueno said during a press briefing on Tuesday, April 8.
Bueno, who is also a lawyer, explained that if proven guilty, both officers will face dismissal from the police service, although due process will be followed in their respective cases.
He urged his fellow police officers to uphold the law and warned of severe consequences for those who violate it.
“When violence comes from those people who are supposed to implement the law, that is the cruelest form of violence, and the power of us, law enforcers, is that we are the most powerful when we wield the arms of justice. So let’s please do this in a good way,” Bueno said.
Pescante and Labra are currently detained in separate custodial facilities and are both facing individual criminal charges. / AYB