By Jennifer P. Rendon
Administrative cases will be slapped on two police officers who allegedly engaged in online cockfighting or sabong.
The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) already forwarded the information for the conduct of investigation on Police Corporal Ricky Setiar and Police Staff Sergeant Noli Gallaron.
Setiar is a member of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6 while Gallaron had just reported to IPPO for his new assignment on the day he was caught allegedly gambling.
The case against the two cops stemmed from the anti-illegal gambling operation conducted by the IPPO Provincial Special Operations Group (PSOG) in on Hernani Baranco Sports Complex in Janiuay, Iloilo evening of Jan 14, 2020.
Eighty-two persons were arrested and charged except Setiar and Gallaron. They were presumed to have been present but slipped away before they were arrested.
Their presence at the scene was later confirmed after their firearms were found in the vault of the cockpit.
Three firearms were recovered. A check revealed that the firearms were covered by memorandum receipts issued to two policemen and a member of the Philippine Army.
“While they were not arrested, we have secured a CCTV footage that showed that they entered the cockpit,” Police Colonel Roland Vilela, Iloilo police chief, said.
Vilela said that Setiar and Gallaron should be held liable for violating an order prohibiting police personnel from bars, nightclubs and similar public drinking places and establishments.
PNP rules mandate that nightclubs, beer gardens, karaoke bars, and pubs, as strictly off limits to all police officers, including establishments of ill-repute, illegal gambling dens and other places devoted to vices.”
Violation of the order could lead to dismissal from service.
Vilela said the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division (RIDMD) will conduct the investigation and file a case for grave misconduct against the two police officers.
“Setiar is not our personnel while Gallaron’s assignment with us was revoked and he was reassigned back to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU),” he said.
Vilela claimed that Gallaron was assigned to the RPHAU before after he was also caught entering a cockpit.
Meanwhile, Vilela said he leaves it to the Philippine Army to investigate its own personnel.
