‘Ninja cops’ face new probe by DOJ, PNP

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) will reinvestigate the criminal and administrative cases of 13 “ninja cops,” officials said.

The move to reinvestigate police Maj. Rodney Baloyo and his men came as the Senate wraps up its inquiry into the incident that has cast doubt on PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde’s track record a month away from his retirement.

Baloyo and his men were accused of carting away a huge amount of cash and P650 million worth of shabu from a suspected drug trafficker in a raid in Mexico, Pampanga in 2013.

Albayalde was then the Pampanga police provincial director who was relieved following the controversial raid.

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee cited several lapses in the previous and separate probes of the DOJ and PNP that could be the reason why they remain in the force instead of being dismissed or put behind bars.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told the committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon, that he has ordered a speedy review of the dismissal of cases filed against them in March 2014 for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act. The law mandates the automatic review of any drug case dismissed by prosecutors.

Senators and Guevarra, however, were not clear during the previous hearings on how long the DOJ should be conducting the review.

Albayalde, for his part, told the inquiry that he already ordered the confinement of the 13 at PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, though Baloyo was cited in contempt of the Senate on Thursday and was detained that night at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

Senators told Baloyo to stay in the NBP until he cooperates and “tells the truth” on the details of the raid.

Prison officials said Baloyo is held in one of the buildings in the Reception and Diagnostic Center, detained in a cell with an area of 2.5 by 3 meters and separated from the other inmates for his security.

Albayalde said there would be reinvestigation into the administrative cases against them to find out, among others, why it took more than a year to serve the dismissal orders against them after they were issued in November 2014; and why the penalty was reduced to mere demotion.

Albayalde, however, said he himself was willing to be subjected to another investigation after Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong continued to express suspicions on his actions as Pampanga provincial police chief at the time of Baloyo’s operation.

On March 15, 2014, Albayalde was relieved from his post by then PNP Region 3 chief Maj. Gen. Raul Petrasanta for command responsibility. Magalong, who was then chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, started the probe on Baloyo’s raid.

It was Magalong who mentioned Albayalde’s name in a closed-door session with senators earlier this month in connection with the raid.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said up to now, there is nothing to indicate that Albayalde had foreknowledge of Baloyo’s alleged criminal acts, but his phone call to then PNP Region 3 chief Aaron Aquino in 2016 cast doubts on his innocence.

“I would say and I can speak for myself, doubt has started to set in at least on a possible cover-up attempt,” Lacson said.

“The call made to Aquino, as rectified, was an apparent cover-up attempt although not conclusive and not enough evidence to start an investigation against him,” he said.

Lacson said Baloyo and his men are “not out of the woods” with the reinvestigation by two agencies.

Aquino claimed Albayalde – who was then chief of the National Capital Region Police Office – called him up to inquire about the status of the dismissal proceedings against Baloyo and his men sometime in the latter part of 2016.

When he asked why, Aquino said Albayalde replied that they were his men. At the time of the raid, Baloyo was Albayalde’s intelligence officer in Pampanga.

Aquino, now Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief, said Albayalde also requested him not to implement the dismissal order against Baloyo and the rest of the group.

The PDEA chief testified that he told Albayalde at that time that he will ask his legal officer to review the case but in the meantime, he would send Baloyo and his men to Mindanao.

Magalong said the investigation had pieced together what really transpired during the raid based on meticulous reenactments and testimonies of several witnesses, including security guards and the local police.

Baloyo led the raid at around 10:30 a.m. at Lakeshore subdivision where they were able to seize over 200 kilos of shabu, at least one suitcase of cash and some sport utility vehicles.Non Alquitran, Romina Cabrera, Ralph Edwin Villanueva