INKING,
EVANGELISTA |
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Provincial
police director SSupt. Edgardo Ingking has filed a complaint
for grave misconduct and dishonesty against his predecessor,
former Bohol police chief SSupt. Arturo Evangelista.
Evangelista,
now the chief of the Regional Investigation and Detection
Management Division based in Cebu City, allegedly
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"[damaged]
the good image of the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO)
and demoralized its members", Ingking's complaint stated.
This,
after Evangelista made a report as contained in a memorandum
to the PNP Region-7 director, stating that the Bohol police
had six lapses in its operation in responding to the bloody
robbery of the Bank of Commerce last August 28.
Records
showed that this could be the first case in the country where
PNP officials (at the rank of colonel) are in legal battle.
A
move to reconcile both officials last Monday, proved futile,
according to a highly placed source from the regional PNP
command.
The
same source told the Chronicle that only an apology from Evangelista
can "settle the matter."
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Ingking's
complaint, which was already evaluated at the National
Police Commission (Napolcom) 7, is now being forwarded
to the Office of the President for presidential clearance
to proceed with the summary hearing at the Napolcom
en banc. Evangelista is an appointee of the president.
In
its pre-charge evaluation report, Napolcom-7 ruled that
Ingking's complaint is "complete in form and substance"
and recommended for the filing of grave misconduct and
dishonesty with aggravating circumstance of taking undue
advantage of his official position against Evangelista.
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Napolcom-7
however denied Ingking's petition to place Evangelista under
preventive suspension pending resolution of the case.
THE
COMPLAINT
Ingking
likewise accused Evangelista of lying when the latter claimed
in a local newspaper that he was "remembered as the creator
of the now famous Bohol Tourist Police [when] in fact the
said group was created and launched in 2001 by then provincial
director SSupt. Sancho Bernales."
The
Napolcom pre-charge investigator also found that Evangelista
"occupies a sensitive position in the PNP organization"
and having "prepared deliberately an unverified report
that tarnishes the good image of the Bohol police as a whole…"
The
documentary evidences supporting Evangelista's allegations
likewise which "remained uncontroverted at this stage,
are so strong and adequate to warrant the elevation of [the]
case to a summary hearing or a formal investigation,"
the pre-charge investigation report stated.
According
to the Napolcom, the report submitted by Evangelista "greatly
eroded and demolished the Bohol police officers' self-esteem
and self confidence they garnered from the triumphant capture
of Garcia's group."
The
Evangelista report "compromised the pride and integrity
of the police group tantamount to maliciously intriguing against
the honor and discrediting the integrity of his co-police
officers" the Napolcom said.
Hence,
considering Evangelista's position, the offense qualifies
as grave misconduct, according to the Napolcom investigator.
The
charge of dishonesty is due to the claim of Evangelista that
he created the Bohol Tourist Police and failing to correct
the report made in a local newspaper which has misled the
public.
Having
held the position of provincial police director, Evangelista
should have known that the tourist police existed even before
his stint, the Napolcom argued.
Once
a presidential clearance is obtained, the Napolcom en banc
will immediately proceed with the formal hearing of the case.
THE
REPORT
According
to Evangelista's report, the six lapses committed by the Bohol
PNP in responding to the Bank of Commerce robbery and later
to the arrest of the suspects "came from the media and
those who had hands in the arrest of Casimiro "Meloy"
Garcia and Gilben Nuez."
Evangelista's
memorandum to the regional PNP director stated "the insufficient
police visibility in Tagbilaran City to deter occurrence of
hold-up cases despite other robbery incidents in the past
prior to the Bank of Commerce; no specific reactive unit to
respond to an incident and crisis; the police lapses can be
gleaned from the fact that the suspects were able to execute
their trade in broad daylight in the heart of the city and
whose escape was unhampered not even by a single checkpoint
in the neighboring municipalities."
The
memorandum report stated further that "there was no aggressive
follow-up operation as investigators following up the case
could not get hint or clue [regarding the whereabouts of the
suspects] not until a concerned resident called them up; the
non-observance of police operating procedures and lack of
supervision of elements only two non-commissioned policemen
reacting to the reported presence of the suspects at the Dumaluan
Beach, who did not bother to inform their chief/supervisor
and allowed the security guards in the area to arrest the
armed suspects inside the resort's room."
The
local police also allegedly, "delayed (the) submission
of sketchy report to the regional operations for information
of the command group."
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