Cebu City: 2 men posing as cops caught, freed, nabbed in police op
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police arrested two men who allegedly posed as police officers and allegedly tried to implicate a BPO worker in a drug case in Colon Street, Cebu City.
They were, however, caught in another police operation at the Cebu City pier area today — a day after the incident in Colon Street on Tuesday, August 11.
The incident unfolded early Tuesday, Aug. 11, when the victim said one of the men followed him through Colon Street before another man confronted him.
The man allegedly choked him and claimed to be a police officer, allegedly accusing the victim of supposedly carrying two sachets of shabu.
CCPO spokesperson Police Lieutenant Colonel Franco Rudolf Oriol confirmed Wednesday that the two men involved in the confrontation did not belong to the police force.
“Dili jud sila mga pulis. Ug nagpaila lang sila nga pulis ngadto sa biktima.”
(They were not police officers. They only identified themselves as police officers to the victim.)
In the Colon confrontation, police responded, but the two men were later released after they asked forgiveness from the victim, saying that what happened was a case of mistaken identity.
However, police later arrested the two men during a separate “Oplan Bulabog” operation in the pier area, with one of them allegedly found carrying illegal drugs and the other allegedly carrying an illegal firearm, Oriol said.
What happened in Colon
The victim, who identified himself in his Facebook post as a 23-year-old man from Minglanilla who works in the BPO industry, said he took a 13C jeepney from work to Colon shortly after 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
He said a man wearing a black sleeveless shirt and a mask followed him while riding a bicycle. The man allegedly continued watching and following him as he moved toward the Unitop area.
The victim said he eventually crossed toward the University of Cebu area near Unitop, where he sought safety near several men, including a security guard.
He then said another man wearing a jacket and cap suddenly approached him, allegedly choked him, and identified himself as a police officer.
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According to the victim, the man accused him of carrying two sachets of shabu in his bag and signaled his companion to call police officers stationed nearby.
The victim said he shouted for help and secured his bag and pockets because he feared someone might plant drugs on him.
He also said he demanded that the man show his police identification and told responding officers that he had been accused of involvement in a drug transaction.
The victim said he allowed officers to check his belongings and no illegal drugs were found.
He further claimed that one of the men insisted he had been communicating with the victim through Grindr and had arranged a meeting to hand over shabu.
The victim said the two men eventually admitted that they had mistaken him for someone else and that one of them admitted he was not a police officer.
He later accompanied the men and the responding officers to a fast-food outlet, where he said one suspect asked for his forgiveness.
With the confrontation settled, police released the two men.
However, the victim said he and his friends later helped file a blotter report at Police Station 5 or the Carbon Police Station.
Police confirm men posed as cops
Oriol said CCPO immediately ordered an investigation after the victim’s social media post went viral.
Police Colonel Ricky Sumalde, CCPO director, ordered an investigation, with Police Station 5 handling the initial investigation, Oriol said.
Police confirmed that the two men were not police officers and had no connection to the organization, he said.
“Nagpaila lang sila nga pulis ngadto sa biktima.”
(They only identified themselves as police officers to the victim.)
Oriol also disputed allegations that police failed to respond to the incident.
He said two police officers assigned to an elevated outpost near a fast-food establishment in the Metro Colon area immediately responded after hearing a commotion.
“Girespondehan jud to sa duha ka personnel nato.” (Our two personnel really responded to the incident.)
The officers first brought the parties to the elevated outpost for an initial inquiry before taking them to Police Station 5 for formal investigation, Oriol said.
Oriol said the victim ultimately decided not to file a complaint at Station 5 after the two suspects apologized.
Police still ordered a formal investigation into the incident despite the victim’s decision, he said.
Oriol said Station 5 had also been directed to submit a report on the incident.
The police spokesperson said the lack of illegal drugs recovered from the victim also affected what police could do at the time.
“Wala man pod nakuha kaniya og illegal nga drogas ang maong biktima.”
(No illegal drugs were recovered from the victim.)
Nabbed at pier area
The two suspects later turned up in a separate police operation, Oriol said.
Station 3 personnel conducted “Oplan Bulabog” in the pier area on Tuesday, where officers arrested them.
Police allegedly recovered illegal drugs from one of the men and an illegal firearm from the other, according to Oriol.
Investigators later determined that the two men arrested in the operation matched those involved in the Colon incident.
“Ang kining duha kagahapon nga na-involve sa insidente sa Metro Colon, anaa na karon sa kustodiya sa Police Station 3 on a separate case for illegal possession of drugs and illegal possession of firearms,” he said.
(The two who were involved in the Metro Colon incident yesterday are now in the custody of Police Station 3 on separate cases for illegal possession of drugs and illegal possession of firearms.)
Oriol said the arrests stemmed from the separate operation.
The two suspects now remain under Station 3 custody for the separate drug and firearm cases, while CCPO continues its investigation into the circumstances surrounding their alleged impersonation of police officers.
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