QUEZON City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Joselito Esquivel Jr. ordered on Saturday, June 30, the relief of four policemen who arrested Genesis "Tisoy" Argoncillo, the young man who died while in detention.
Esquivel identified the relieved personnel as Senior Inspector Cyril Dagusen, commander of the Police Community Precinct 3 in QCPD Police Station 4 Novaliches, and Police Officer (PO) 1 Ruel Tubat, PO1 Paulo Lopez Jr. and PO1 Paul Hector Calderon, who arrested Argoncillo on June 15 for allegedly alarms and scandals.
He said the four were transferred to the Quezon City Police District Headquarters Support Unit in Camp Tomas Karingal.
"A Pre-charge Evaluation was also conducted against Dagusen and his men to determine any administrative liability relative to the arrest of Tisoy," said Esquivel.
Earlier, Novaliches Police station Commander, Superintendent Carlito Grijaldoa along with four other police personnel were relieved from post pending the investigation into Argoncillo's killing.
Esquivel said an administrative investigation against the said policemen is also ongoing.
Argoncillo's family, barangay officials and other witnesses said he was arrested on June 15 for loitering shirtless on the street amid the Philippine National Police's (PNP) intensified operation against street loiterers.
Police later said Argoncillo was accused of alarms and scandals. He was detained at the Novaliches police station.
Four days later, on June 19, Argoncillo died from multiple blunt force trauma allegedly after he was beaten up by fellow detainees.
Esquivel initially claimed that the attending physician did not find any sign of external injury on Argoncillo's body.
An autopsy, however, showed that Argoncillo sustained multiple blunt force trauma in the neck, head, chest and upper extremities.
Two detainees at the Novaliches police station were charged with murder after three other inmates reportedly confessed to the police what they did to Argoncillo.
"Malinaw sa testimonya noong isang testigo na allegedly itong si Tisoy uneasy palakad-lakad, tumatakbo sa loob ng kulungan may time na naapakan ‘yung ibang presong natutulog. ‘Yun ang nagignite doon sa dalawa (suspect) nung bawalan hindi nagpa-bawal ‘yun na doon na binugbog nung gabi nung (June) 18 ‘yun at nung (June) 19 dumaing na ng paghirap sa paghinga,” QCPD Crime Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) chief Rodel Marcelo said.
(One witness said Tisoy was restless inside the detention cell and may have disturbed other detainees who were asleep. That allegedly prompted the two suspects to warn Tisoy and beat him up when he ignored the warning.) (SunStar Philippines)