State prosecutors have found probable cause to charge eight members of the Eastern Police District (EPD) who allegedly stole P85 million from a Chinese trader during an unauthorized police operation in Las Piñas City.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Maj. Gen. Anthony Aberin said in a statement Friday that the Office of the City Prosecutor filed a complaint of kidnapping and two counts of robbery against the eight suspects, who are members of the EPD’s District Special Operations Unit (DSOU), before the court on Thursday.
The cases stemmed from an operation on 2 April where the eight officers allegedly served a fake arrest warrant against the victim.
Reports said that the victim and relatives claim the officers disabled their closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera, forcibly opened their vaults, and took the money in pesos, US dollars and Malaysian ringgit, along with jewelry, gadgets and other personal belongings worth P85 million.
“Let me be clear — the NCRPO does not shield any wrongdoing. I will not condone any misdeed perpetrated by any member of NCRPO and I will ensure the filing of airtight cases against police scalawags,” Aberin said.
“We will closely monitor the progress of these criminal cases and we shall ensure that the administrative investigation will result in their dismissal from the service, based on evidence and due process of law,” he added.
To recall, Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo earlier said the dismissed DSOU commander, Maj. Emerson Coballes, was tagged as absent without official leave after failing to comply with a return-to-work order from the NCRPO.
Coballes did not report for duty after the NCRPO determined the raid on the Chinese businessman’s house was intended for robbery, as the foreigner did not match the description of the individual named in the arrest warrant.
Aberin said the complaint against Coballes is scheduled for preliminary investigation on 22 and 29 April 2025.
The eight police officers are currently detained at the Las Piñas City custodial facility, facing separate administrative charges that could lead to their dismissal from the police service if found guilty.
The PNP Internal Affairs Service stressed that it is expanding its investigation to include other police personnel involved in the incident.