Man may lose eye after cop ‘beat him up’ for ‘theft’

CEBU, Philippines - A police officer is facing an investigation for allegedly mauling a 24-year-old suspected thief in his house in Barangay Bulacao, Cebu City early dawn Sunday.

Police Officer 2 Romeo Cabulao, who is currently assigned with Guadalupe Police Station’s beat patrol, allegedly attacked Joe Henry Bagul, a resident of Sitio Pwesto, Barangay Napo, Carcar, who was accused of stealing the gadgets of Cabulao’s daughter inside their house.

The stolen items were a Samsung tablet worth P7,000 and a Samsung S3 cellphone worth P11,000.

The parents of Bagul initially went to the radio station of dyHP to seek assistance for their son. They were advised to file a complaint against the cop with the Regional Investigation and Detection Management Division of the Police Regional Office-7.

Bagul is currently confined at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center after he suffered injuries in different parts of his body. He is scheduled for an operation today to remove his right eye that was injured reportedly due to the mauling incident.

Maria Jessica, Bagul’s mother, said that they are seeking justice for their son.

She said Bagul, her eldest child, was in Bulacao last Sunday to visit his younger sibling, who is a neighbor of Cabulao, after going to Carbon Public Market to buy spices.

She said Cabulao allegedly mauled her son first and a group of bystanders then followed suit.

“Gidunggab pud daw sa kutsilyo, giguyod, giposasan, gitabangan siya,” Maria Jessica said of her son.

Diomedes, Bagul’s father also said there were witnesses who could testify that Cabulao mauled his son.

“Niingon pa akong anak nga ‘undangi ko tsip’. Niingon pud ang nakakita niya nga undangon na. Giingnan ra siya sa pulis nga ‘apilon tika hinuon’,” Diomedes said.

He said it pains him seeing the condition his son, who was helpless during the attack, is in right now, adding that his son is not a thief despite their low economic status.

“Mura’g nawa ko sa akong kaugalingon pagkakita niya. Sige’g agas ang dugo sa iyang mata. Wa ko kasabot sa akong gibati. Giluom nalang nako,” he said.

Maria Jessica further shared that they are asking for financial assistance to pay for the medical fees of the eye operation their son has to undergo.

Cabulao, however, denied the allegation, saying that he was not in the area when the mauling incident happened.

“Di ko katubag sa bun-og niya. Wa gyud ko diha. Taong bayan na nagkuan niya. Imposible nga ako. Wala gyud koy labot,” he said.

“Dili nako i-gamble akong mga awards. Mauwaw ko sa akong mga paryente,” he added.

Cabulao said his daughter identified Bagul as the culprit since she saw him inside their living room. Cabulao’s daughter went home around 2 a.m. last Sunday and caught Bagul inside their house. His pair of slippers was also recovered in their house.

“Akong balay ang gilungkab,” Cabulao said.

He said Bagul tried to escape by jumping from roof to roof and scaling over a 20-foot fence of the house of an engineer in whose premises the victim was caught.

The items Bagul allegedly stole, however, were nowhere to be found.

Cabulao said he never violated any human rights in his 22 years of service as a policeman.

Superintendent Henry Biñas, RIDMD deputy chief, said they will investigate Cabulao and determine if there is probable cause to have him undergo summary hearing, possibly for grave misconduct.

Biñas said law enforcers may apply force if the need arises but that the force must be reasonable.

“Di sobra gyud nga bun-ogon siya except kung maka-injure or maka-damage sa imoha. But in this case, wa pa ta kahibawo sa circumstance but based sa evidence, bun-og gyud siya,” Biñas, a lawyer, said. — Grace Melanie I. Lacamiento/RHM (FREEMAN)