By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The Iloilo City Government on Monday said it will not pursue filing charges against two employees of Protégé, the sub-contractor of the city’s power distributor MORE Power and Electric Corp., after they were nabbed on Sunday for allegedly using falsified travel documents.
According to Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) chief and COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson Jeck Conlu, doubts were triggered when they found the control numbers on the letters of coordination and of acceptance were already used back in September.
The signature on the PNP travel authority was that of General Debold Sinas who was already elevated to the country’s top police post since Nov. 10, 2020.
At the time the original travel authority was issued in September 2020, Sinas was still the chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
Upon coordination with the local police office, the two contractors – a male and a female – were nabbed while grabbing lunch at Gen. Luna St. in City Proper.
MORE Power confirmed in a statement that the two were employees of their subcontractor that provided the equipment for repair of posts and lines.
MORE Power, however, said that the subcontracting company processed their workers’ papers.
The two, according to Conlu, were released 12 pm Monday after the lapse of the reglementary detention period.
Their possible charge would have been Falsification by Private Individuals and Use of Falsified Documents under Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code.
But Conlu said in an interview with Aksyon Radyo Iloilo that they will not file charges saying it would be “too much.”
He said it is “enough” for the two workers and their employer to realize that the city government was serious in their monitoring of people who enter and exit the city, even through other points of the region.
In the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns in the city, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas expressed his frustrations over the lack of coordination of returning residents or essential visitors.
In nixing the charges, Conlu recognized that they were “very cooperative” and answered every question by the local police during the investigation.
“The two seemed innocent because they were able to answer all of our questions and they didn’t hide other information from us when we asked them. It would be too much if we press charges against them, so for us, that would be enough, the detention period for them and their office, whoever processed, to realize that the city of Iloilo is monitoring whoever goes in and out of the city, especially those from other parts of Region 6,” Conlu said.
He hoped that the incident would serve as warning to those who wish to rush their entry into the city, saying that the city government will not be complacent.
“This is a warning to those travelling from outside Region 6 going to Iloilo City, that when we issue requirements it doesn’t mean that they aren’t being monitored. We monitor them, and there are hits when your documents are fake or tampered. Many may think that the city is relaxing, but everyone who enters at ports of entry, the receiving provinces or LGUs coordinate them with the LGUs of the final destination, and we look at our records if they are coordinated or not,” he added.
He said that they will coordinate with MORE Power to send a letter to their subcontractor, reminding them of the protocols,
“We will send them a letter and remind them that we are not ignoring the protocols of the city and we are following them and we are serious in monitoring the entries and exits. We will definitely write them a letter, although we will have to consult this with MORE because we don’t have a direct contact with the supplier. If they do have an office here in the city, or representative higher than the two we intercepted, we will call them up and inform them of what had happened and the wrong they did,” Conlu said.
