2 men nabbed after posing as cops, beating up LGBTQ member

Local

By MyTVCebu Desk

TWO men accused of posing as police officers during a confrontation with a member of the LGBT community on Tuesday, August 11, were arrested in separate police operations, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said Wednesday, Aug. 12.

The development came as police moved to clarify what happened in the viral incident, after a social media post by 23-year-old Rey Anthony Castillanes Abing described how he was allegedly followed, confronted and choked by men who claimed to be police officers and accused him of carrying shabu.

In a press conference, Lt. Col. Franco Rudolf Oriol, CCPO spokesperson, said an investigation was ordered by CCPO chief Col. Ireneo B. Somaliting after the incident gained attention online.

Oriol stressed that the two men involved were not police officers.

“Kadtong duha ka-involve dili jud to sila mga pulis jud,” Oriol said.

He added that they merely introduced themselves to the victim as police officers.

Oriol also disputed claims that the police failed to respond or assist Abing.

He said two police personnel assigned to an elevated outpost near a fast-food establishment in Metro Colon immediately responded after hearing a commotion.

The officers first brought the parties to the elevated outpost for an initial inquiry before taking them to Police Station 5, where the incident was formally investigated.

According to Oriol, Abing eventually decided not to pursue a case against the two men after they apologized.

The police, however, still ordered a formal investigation and required the Police Station 5 to submit a report on the incident.

While the Colon incident was being investigated, the Police Station 3 was conducting an Oplan Bulabog operation in the pier area.

Oriol said two men were arrested during the operation.

One was allegedly found in possession of illegal drugs, while the other was allegedly found with an illegal firearm.

Police later established that the two men arrested in the pier area were the same individuals involved in the Metro Colon incident, Oriol said.

The two are now in the custody of Police Station 3 for the separate cases involving alleged illegal possession of drugs and illegal possession of a firearm.

The CCPO spokesperson said the two suspects told investigators they had been waiting in the pier area for a person they had contacted to buy illegal drugs.

When Abing arrived, they allegedly mistook him for their supposed contact.

“They thought that our victim was their transaction, so that was what happened nila nga nagpaila pod sila nga pulis kunohay,” Oriol said.

He emphasized that the two men were not police officers and were not connected to the police.

Police also found no illegal drugs in Abing's possession during the investigation.

Oriol said that because Abing did not file a complaint at Police Station 5 and no illegal drugs were found on him, police had no basis at that point to hold the two men over the Colon incident.

Their subsequent arrests in the pier area, however, resulted in separate cases that placed them in police custody.

In his Facebook post, Abing said he was on his way to Colon early Tuesday after coming from work when he noticed a man on a bicycle repeatedly following him.

He said he initially thought he was being targeted for robbery and tried to stay near other people for safety.

Near the University of Cebu area, Abing said another man approached him, choked him and identified himself as a police officer.

According to his account, the man accused him of carrying two sachets of shabu and allegedly instructed his companion to call police officers in Metro Colon.

Abing said he shouted for help and immediately secured his bag and pockets because he feared the men might plant drugs on him.

He also said he challenged the man claiming to be a police officer to show his identification.

The confrontation eventually ended after police officers arrived and brought the parties to the elevated outpost and later to Police Station 5.

Abing said in his post that one of the men later admitted he was not a police officer and apologized, claiming they had mistaken him for someone else.

While the police account supports the key point that the two men were not police officers, some of the other details in Abing's social media account remain his account of the incident and have not been independently established by the CCPO.

Oriol said the police are continuing their formal investigation into the Colon incident.(TGP)