By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan — Reijie Rose did not expect to be beaten black and blue — much less by policemen — while he was attending a wake in Tigayon village here on July 13.
He was sitting alone in a motorcycle and texting when operatives of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group (PAIDSOTG) approached him and accused him of possessing illegal drugs.
Rose, 27, of Cogon village in Lezo town said the operatives tried to choke him and hit his genitals.
He said he called for help from bystanders, but the operatives hit him in the face several times.
“They brought me to their vehicle and removed by pair of long pants. I even left my slippers,” Rose said in Akeanon over a radio interview. “I couldn’t do anything. I was handcuffed.”
He said the policemen then took him with them to Villa Salvacion in Andagao village, about 4 kilometers from Tigayon, where they will hold a drug operation.
When the operatives left him in their vehicle, the alleged drug suspect took the chance to escape.
Rose said he was only a few meters away when two operatives caught him and pointed their firearms to him, and subdued him by kicking his chest.
The next thing Rose knew was that he was already confined in the Aklan provincial hospital. He denied selling or possessing illegal drugs.
An earlier report said the operatives arrested Rose after he handed to a poseur buyer a sachet of suspected shabu.
ILOILO TREATMENT
On July 18, Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Marietta Homena–Valencia granted a motion from Rose’s camp to allow the suspect to seek medical treatment in Iloilo City.
His doctor in the provincial hospital here recommended his transfer to a hospital in Iloilo City for a comprehensive exam.
Rose, who had sustained severe head and body injuries, was taken to Western Visayas State University Medical Center.
Two jail guards will accompany the suspect, according to the court.
BOARD PROBE
The Provincial Board will also investigate the alleged police brutality.
Board member Harry Sucgang, committee on human rights chair, said the operatives involved will be invited for a probe in aid of legislation.
“Arresting officers shouldn’t hit the suspect when he was already handcuffed and restrained,” Sucgang stressed.
The Philippine National Police has launched an investigation on the incident. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
