NCRPO: Prosecutor okays filing of robbery, kidnapping raps vs 8 EPD cops
National Capital Region Police Office. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of NCRPO
MANILA, Philippines — The Las Piñas City Prosecutor’s Office has approved the filing of robbery and kidnapping charges against eight Eastern Police District (EPD) officers.
These law enforcers are said to be directly involved in the allegedly erroneous arrest of two Chinese.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) gave this information in a statement on Thursday.
“[T]he Office of the City Prosecutor of Las Piñas has resolved in favor of the charges forwarded by NCRPO against police scalawags of EPD involved in serious irregularities,” it said.
“With the resolution finalized, the prosecution formally files in court two counts of robbery, as defined under Article 294(5) in relation to Article 295 of the Revised Penal Code, and one count of kidnapping for ransom under Article 267 of the same Code, all against the named respondents,” the NCRPO noted.
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The eight officers in question were in the EPD District Special Operations Unit (DSOU).
They were accused of taking P85 million in cash and valuables from the two Chinese.
A police investigation report said the operatives failed to wear body-worn cameras, provide a sketch or spot report, or coordinate with the Las Piñas City police or the EPD district director.
In response, the NCRPO ordered all 31 DSOU personnel and the EPD district director to be relieved.
The NCRPO also placed the eight officers under restrictive custody.
The preliminary investigation for the cases is set on April 22 and 29.
READ: EPD special ops chief in ‘irregular’ arrest of 2 Chinese declared AWOL
For her part, Philippine National Police (PNP) Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the DSOU chief was declared AWOL after failing to report to work despite being issued an order.
She gave the information during an interview on Thursday.
