7 Las Piñas cops face kidnap case

From tempo.com.ph:

IMUS CITY, Cavite – The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor Office-Cavite has filed a kidnapping-for-ransom case against seven Las Piñas City policemen for allegedly holding a 20-year-old student and demanding P30,000 from his sister in Cavite in November last year.

Cavite Provincial Chief Prosecutor Gavino B. Mapanoo approved the resolution recommending the filing of the case against PO3 Joel Lupig, PO2 Vener Guanlao, PO1 Jeffrey de Leon, PO1 Mark Jefferson, PO1 Raymart Gomez, PO1 Erickson Rivera, and PO2 Jayson Arellano.

From englishradionews.com

In a two-page resolution, Mapanoo recommended the dismissal of the complaint against the eighth suspect as he is a minor and exempted from criminal liability.

The eighth suspect, a 13-year-old boy, reportedly ran errand for the policemen.

“The crime of kidnapping was sufficiently proven by the complainant. Respondents are police officers, however, their acts were not committed in furtherance of their functions and responsibilities. The circumstances surrounding the arrest of complainant are questionable and highly irregular. The kidnapping was clearly illegal and undertaken for the purpose of extorting ransom from complainant and his sister,” the resolution said.

The seven policemen involved in the case failed to submit their counter-affidavits, the resolution added.

The victim, Cyrus Ligutan, stood as complainant against the suspects.

His testimonies were corroborated by his sister, Shelane Ligutan.

Cyrus was reportedly arrested by Lupig and his group for illegal drug possession.

He was held in a van reportedly brought along by the group on Nov. 21.

As they held Cyrus, Lupig, in a phone transaction, allegedly initially asked for P200,000 from Shelane before it was reduced to P30,000.

Shelane reported the incident to the authorities and arranged the entrapment operation that led to the arrest of the policemen’s errand boy.

Lupig reportedly asked the boy to get the cash from Shelane.

When the boy did not return, Lupig and his companions panicked and they drove off with their vehicle. (Anthony Giron)