5 cops dismissed over disappearance of online ‘sabong’ master agent in Laguna (Latest Sabong News)

Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has approved the dismissal of five policemen tagged in the kidnapping of a master agent of online cockfighting, or e-sabong, in Laguna last year. PNP chief information officer Col. Redrico Maranan said the dismissal was based on the recommendation for the five cops to be dismissed after they were found guilty for grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of an officer in connection with the kidnapping of Ricardo Lasco right inside his home in San Pablo City in Laguna in August last year. He identified the policemen as Police Lt. Henry Sasaluya, Police Master Sgt. Michael Claveria, Police Staff Sgt. Daryl Paghangaan, Patrolman Rigell Brosas and Patrolman Roy Navarete. Maranan said the investigation was conducted after the names of the five policemen cropped up at the course of the investigation in connection with the 34 missing cockfighting players–all of them remain unaccounted to date. Azurin approved the recommendation of the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) for the dismissal of the five policemen, according to Maranan. He said the five cops are currently under restrictive custody at the Police Regional Office 4A in Laguna. The five cops allegedly introduced themselves as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) when they entered the house of Lasco and claimed that they had an arrest warrant against him for large scale estafa. In a statement released by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the policemen also carted away personal belongings and cash amounting to over P10 million from the house of Lasco. Indictment CIDG director Police Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee said three of the five policemen–Paghangaan, Brosas and Navarete– were recommended to be slapped with a case of robbery and kidnapping with serious illegal detention by the Department of Justice. “In the DOJ resolution, prosecutors considered the testimonies of all the witnesses, as well as the CCTV footage of the kidnapping of Lasco to be sufficient to establish the case,” said Lee. The case of Lasco is one of the eight cases handled by the CIDG SITG (Special Investigation task Group) “Sabungero” who took cognizance of the said case for further investigation after the complaint for kidnapping filed by the victim’s family before the City Prosecutors Office in San Pablo City was dismissed. “The CIDG reassures the victims’ families and the nation that it will not put their investigation on said cases on hold nor will stop from pursuing its resolution,” said Lee. Status complicated The cases of the 34 missing sabungeros are seen as one of the reasons behind the order of then president Rodrigo Duterte to stop all the operations of online sabong. Based on the initial result of the investigation, the disappearance of the 34 missing sabungeros was part of the crackdown against alleged cockfighting players involved in game-fixing. Police, however, are having a hard-time solving the case as they were not able to find witnesses in most of the cases.