Public Servant On the wrong side

On Target
Public servants on the wrong side

By Ramon Tulfo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:20:00 07/26/2008


Sotico Inocencio, 42, a tricycle driver from Capiz province, was having a late lunch on July 18 at a fastfood restaurant in Cubao, Quezon City, when he was approached by six men with bulging waistlines.
They said they were agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and were arresting him for raping and murdering a woman in Taytay, Rizal province last year.
Inocencio said they were mistaken since he came to Manila only in April this year.
When he resisted, one of the men drew a pistol and whipped him in the head twice.
He was taken to the NBI headquarters bloodied and handcuffed.
At the office of the Internal Affairs Division (IAD), two witnesses arrived and said the captors got the wrong guy.
After knowing his men made a mistake, IAD chief Oscar Embido reportedly asked Inocencio: “Iglesia ka ba (Are you a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo)?”
When Inocencio said he was a Catholic, Embido allegedly told him to get out of his office immediately.
Not a single word of apology came from Embido for Inocencio’s mistaken arrest and bloodied head.
Embido, allegedly an untouchable at the NBI because he was recommended by the INC, was former chief of the anti-organized crime division from which he was removed for alleged abusive conduct.
Embido and his men are not authorized to make arrests as their duty is only to investigate complaints from the public against NBI agents.
I’ve referred Inocencio’s complaint to the Commission on Human Rights.
No less than CHR chair Leila de Lima has taken interest in the case.
Many people expect heads to roll at the NBI after the investigation.
* * *
A top official at the Department of Justice (DOJ) allegedly tried to put one over his boss, Secretary Raul Gonzalez, but was found out and humiliated.
This official, according to the scuttlebutt at the DOJ, wrote a resolution favoring the accused in a murder case after allegedly receiving P20 million from the suspect himself.
The DOJ official reportedly placed the resolution on the desk of Gonzalez for his signature.
He probably thought the DOJ chief would just sign the resolution without reading it first.
Gonzalez allegedly blew his top when he read the resolution.
He then called the “smart” subordinate to his office and reportedly scolded him.
* * *
There are allegations that Supt. Dionisio Borromeo, chief of police of Dagupan City is involved in the operation of a shabu laboratory in Naguilian, La Union province.
Reports of police involvement in crimes are no longer news.
What would become big news is if the police were reported doing their job.