By Jennifer P. Rendon
The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) does not tolerate misdeeds of its officers.
Colonel Uldarico Garbanzos, Iloilo City police chief, stressed this point amid the accusations that an ICPO personnel assaulted and shot his neighbor in Oton, Iloilo evening of March 24, 2021.
Garbanzos said that he immediately ordered the relief of Corporal Marvin Seasol from the Arevalo Police Station.
Seasol is now assigned to the ICPO General Services Office “where he could immediately be reached and endorsed once he will be called to address criminal and administrative charges against him.”
The Oton Police Station already filed a case for frustrated murder against Seasol who was accused of shooting his neighbor Normando Estrebor.
Before the incident, the suspect-cop allegedly hurled stones at Estrebor’s house on CM Recto Street, Barangay Poblacion West, Oton.
Estrebor and his father Ernesto saw Seasol when they peeped through their fence.
The cop, who was believed to be drunk, then fired his gun, hitting Estrebor’s back.
Seasol then holed up inside their house at Panique Subdivision in Barangay Buray, Oton, which is just around 20 meters from where the incident happened. He only yielded to police authorities after more than three hours of negotiation.
He also surrendered his issued caliber .9mm Glock 17 pistol loaded with 15 ammunition and a 5.56 M16 Elisco rifle loaded with a magazine with 28 ammunition.
Members of the Scene of the Crime Operations recovered four ammunition cartridges and two fired ammunition.
Garbanzos said they already verified the issuance of the guns taken from Seasol.
The Glock 17 and rifle were issued by the PNP. However, ICPO has no record that a rifle had been in his property.
“Maybe, it was from another (unit) and the turnover to the end user was not formalized,” he said.
Garbanzos said that a rifle is usually left at a safe area or rifle-locked place, for security purposes.
“We are checking if Seasol was allowed to bring home the said firearm,” he added.
It was gathered that either the PNP Regional Internal Affairs Service 6 (RIAS-6) or the National Police Commission (Napolcom) would formally handle the administrative case against Seasol.
