A POLICE officer assigned at the Carbon Police Station in Cebu City was relieved from his post for allegedly flogging a delivery truck helper who was caught for not wearing a mask early this week.
Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Josefino Ligan said the police officer, whom he refused to identify, is facing an investigation.
The police officer was ordered to report to Ligan’s office pending the result of the inquiry. His service firearm was also turned over to the CCPO custody.
Ligan also instructed Carbon Police Station Chief Kenneth Albotra to check the delivery truck helper’s allegations; the CCPO head also invited the alleged victim of police brutality to lodge a formal complaint.
The police officer would face dismissal from service if he is proven guilty as using excessive force against a civilian is deemed as grave offense.
Ligan promised an impartial internal investigation, saying the allegation against his subordinate is serious.
Viral post
The investigators, said Ligan, will check if the person in the image that went viral on social media is the delivery truck helper.
Ligan said he got a tip that the person who posted the image on social media is a fraternity member and the police officer under investigation is a member of another fraternity. But this information, said Ligan, still needs verification.
Albotra, for his part, instructed all his personnel to participate in the investigation. They will check the security camera footage inside the Carbon Police Station and in the place where the incident happened.
The incident was posted on the Facebook account of Aikoh Ylara.
The viral post states that on Monday afternoon, Feb. 8, 2021, Ylara forgot to wear a mask while the delivery truck was parked in the Carbon Public Market complex. The police officer, whom Ylara identified by only his surname Miranda, saw Ylara.
The police officer brought Ylara to the police station where the latter was told to pay P1,000 in fines.
Ylara told the arresting officer that he had no money at the time. The police officer then offered Ylara to choose how many times he would be flogged with a paddle—thrice or five times. When Ylara chose to be flogged thrice, another police officer said to hit him only twice.
The arresting officer proceeded to strike Ylara’s legs thrice.
As of this writing, the delivery truck helper’s post got nearly 10,000 shares and 7,000 comments. (AYB, GPL)