7 cops face admin raps
for misconduct, abuse

Seven policemen in Negros Occidental and in Bacolod City are facing administrative charges for grave misconduct and abuse of authority.

Supt. Regidor Alvarado, Provincial Director of the Internal Affairs Service, said yesterday that, most of these policemen are non-commissioned officers and one is a high-ranking official, although he did not divulge their names on the reasons why they were charged.

He said they have forwarded their recommendations on their cases to the Regional IAS.

Alvarado added that some policemen are also under pre-charge investigation for various offenses and complaints, mostly filed by concerned citizens.

Alvarado said that they are expecting that all of these cases will be resolved this year.

Fifty-five cases against policemen from Western Visayas were resolved in January last year, and resulted in the dismissal from the service of five and the suspension of 15 police records show.

Eight policemen from Western Visayas also had their salaries forfeited, five were reprimanded while 35 were exonerated, records also show.

Meanwhile, most police stations in Negros Occidental and in Bacolod City lack vehicles and communication equipment, while some policemen have no firearms issued to them, Alvarado said.

He said that they found this out in the series of inspections they conducted last year and that they have forwarded their recommendations to the National headquarters in Camp Crame.

Alvarado also said that some police stations have poor detention cell facilities, while some policemen detailed as jailers are lax, and that this results in escapes of detainees.*APN

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POLICE URGE
Renew expired gun licenses

Bacolod City Police Director, Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, yesterday appealed to licensed gun holders with expired permits to renew immediately their gun documents.

De la Paz made the appeal after the release of official records from the Firearms Explosives Security and Guards Section showing that there are 5,393 gun owners in Bacolod City who failed to renew their licenses last year.

“We are appealing to the licensed gun holder with expired permits to renew them or they will be considered loose, and possessing them illegal,” De la Paz said.

“Once they are caught possessing firearms with expired permits, we will file criminal charges against them,” he also said.

The gun holders have already been issued notices to renew their expired licenses.

De la Paz stressed that one of their thrusts for year 2012 is to stop the spread of unlicensed firearms in Bacolod. He added that they will intensify their campaign against illegal guns, especially those in the possession of criminal elements.

BCPO personnel confiscated 92 unlicensed guns from 98 persons they arrested in 79 operations last year, police records show.*APN

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9 apprehended
for illegal fishing

Nine fishermen were apprehended by the police and Bantay Dagat Task Force members in the coastal areas of Binalbagan and Hinigaran, in Negros Occidental Tuesday.

Members of the 603rd Maritime Group, the Bantay Dagat Task Force and the Binalbagan police led by Insp. Albert Sy apprehended six fishermen at about 9:30 a.m. in simultaneous operations in barangays Canmoros and San Juan.

The police identified those apprehended as Marvin Garzola, 30, Randy Delfin, 26, Isabelo Ombi-on, 37, Danny Sesbino, 23, Christopher Tesoro, 32 and Santiago Mendoza, 26, all residents of Brgy. Aguisan in Himamaylan City.

They were nabbed for violating municipal ordinance prohibiting fishing in the area.

In Hinigaran town, the police and the Bantay Dagat members apprehended boat engineer Juanito Toga-on and his two crew members, whose names were not disclosed, at about 11 a.m.

Reports to the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office showed that the group has conducting seaborne patrol operations when they spotted the fishing boat of Toga-on.

The fishermen were not charged or detained, but their fishing boats and paraphernalia were confiscated.*APN

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