Ranking cop arrested while processing his retirement papers
The long arms of the law finally caught up with fugitive policeman Senior Insp. Rudy Celis.
The fifty-five year-old Celis was arrested in Camp Crame, Quezon City Wednesday afternoon by elements from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) while he was processing his retirement papers. He is about to retire from police service next year.
He was held by virtue of an arrest warrant for the case of rape issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 26 presiding judge Antonio Natino on March 2, 2006. No bail was recommended for his temporary liberty.
Celis was accused of raping their house help, who was a minor.
Based on the record of Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID) the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) pegged a reward of P140,000 for his arrest.
Senior Supt. Renato Gumban, chief of CIDG 6, said aside from an arrest warrant for rape, Celis also faces two other arrest warrants. One for the crime of Resistance to Agents of Persons in Authority issued by Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 2 Presiding Judge Amalik Espinosa and the other for Obstruction of Justice also by the same judge.
Gumban said they had been monitoring the movements of Celis for quite some time until he was caught up in Camp Crame.
Gumban said Celis tried to resist arrest when confronted by CIDG personnel. He even tore the arrest warrant showed to him upon seeing that it was only a photocopy. Celis subsided after the authorities gave him the original copy of the warrant.
Celis was planed to Iloilo City the following day.
Gumban said, on board the airplane Celis again created a scene. He kicked the CIDG personnel accompanying him as he tried to go out of the plane.
Upon arrival at the CIDG 6 office in Camp Delgado Celis refused to show up to the media. CIDG personnel even took a hard time letting him out of the investigation room for the media presentation. He went out covering his face with a cloth and hid at the back of the place where Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 regional director Chief Supt. Geary Barias and Gumban were having a press briefing.
Later CIDG personnel accosted Celis to the Camp Delgado clinic for medical examination. Still he hid his face from cameramen and photographers.
Inside the clinic while he was undergoing medical tests Celis again went wild after knowing that media photographers sneaked to take pictures of him. He kicked PO2 Vicente Demadara, Jr. hitting him on the right leg. He calmed down after he was assured that photographers would no longer be allowed inside the clinic.
Gumban said Celis' last assignment was at the Antique Provincial Police Office but he was informed that Celis went on AWOL (Absent Without Leave).
Earlier, Celis was meted with dismissal by the National Police Commission but on appeal it was reduced to 180 days suspension which ended last November 2006.
Gumban said, before his arrest Celis was in Camp Crame processing his reinstatement to the police service and as well as his retirement.
To note, Celis became controversial five years ago after he filed libel cases against almost all of the media practitioners in Iloilo City. He got angry after the media reported on the conflict which ensued between him and the members of a gun club which he had mistaken as an armed group having a meeting in one area in La Paz district.