PRO-6 cop’s link in case meddling
Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao Jr., police regional director, has ordered an investigation on the alleged meddling of a ranking official of Police Regional Office 6 in the theft cases of three foreign nationals in Iloilo.
“During our staff conference, I asked all of the senior superintendents present but they denied involvement. I ordered an investigation to dig deeper into the case,” he said.
Pagdilao said he has instructed Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division chief, Senior Supt. Melvin Gayotin, to investigate if anyone from the PRO-6 is indeed involved.
If found true, Pagdilao said he would not hesitate to file an administrative charge against the responsible official for “undue interference of a case because it’s already in the fiscal office.”
“We would use due process to know the truth behind it. First of all, the police should not meddle and put pressure on a case, especially if the case has already been filed in court,” he said. “The only time we can intervene in a case is during the investigation because during that time, the police is part of the process.”
But once the case is already lodged before the prosecutor’s office, Pagdilao said the only intervention a police could do is to testify once they are called.
A source at the Chief Justice Ramon Avanceña Hall of Justice had earlier claimed that a police official tried to meddle in the filing of the case against the three suspects.
The source, who requested anonymity, claimed that the police official holds the rank of senior superintendent. He supposedly sent an emissary to the fiscal’s office to discuss a possible dismissal of the cases against Hossein Roshandal, 45, an Iranian national and Pakistanis Yawar Tahir, 29, and Imran Hussein, 20.
The three suspects tried to steal cash from a grocery store in Janiuay, Iloilo last July 3 after they pretended to be customers.
They also robbed A and B Money Changer at Solis-Delgado Sts., Iloilo last July 2. Tahir and Hussein were also accused of robbing Henry Lhuillier Pawnshop in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.
