Police have filed criminal charges against an official of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) for allegedly maltreating and badmouthing policemen assigned to secure a football venue in Binan City in Laguna.
Lt. Col. Danilo Mendoza, director of the Binan City police, said they filed two counts of unjust vexation and two counts of oral defamation against Mark Nikolai Villamora before the Binan City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday.
Villamora was described by the police as Planning Chief of the PHISGOC.
“What he did to my men are insulting and unacceptable. My men did not deserve to be treated that way because they were just doing their job,” Mendoza said in a phone interview.
The official said the first incident happened on November 25 when around 60 volunteers for the 30th Southeast Asian Games arrived at the football stadium in Binan City, one of the designated venues for the biennial games.
As a security protocol, policemen assigned in the area asked the volunteers to subject their bags to inspection.
But Mendoza said that Villamora refused to have all his companions be subjected to inspection and, instead, led the volunteers to go inside.
When the cops tried to block the volunteers and advised them to wait for the clearance from the chief of police of Binan City, Villamora was quoted saying:” Walang pakialam ang chief of police dito. Sa ayaw ninyo at gusto ipapasok ko ang mga ito, kami ang masusunod dito.”
At least three middle-ranking policemen were among those allegedly maltreated by Villamora.
The local police let the incident pass but on November 29, Villamora again berated two policemen who were tasked to conduct covert security monitoring inside the stadium.
“He confronted my men anew and maltreated them,” said Mendoza.
This time, Villamora was quoted telling policemen: “P$£@ ina, hindi kayo puwede dito. Huwag kayong pa-special dito at kami ang in-charge sa security.”
“My men tried to invite Mr.Villamora to the security control area after identifying them as a police officer to talk about the issue and at the same time to avoid getting the attention of football viewers but he didn’t follow them and instead reported false information to the person on his cellphone,” said Mendoza.
Mendoza said they sent a letter to Villamora, inviting him to visit his office to discuss the issue.
But Villamora allegedly snubbed the invitation.
This prompted the police to file charges against Villamora.
In the interview, Mendoza said Villamora should have respected his men since they are police officers who are part of the security cluster for the SEA Games.
“Two of the policemen he insulted and badmouthed are already nearing retirement. Why did he treat them that way?,” an irate Mendoza said.
“As part of the organizing committee as he claimed, he should be the first to know that if something bad happen inside because of lapses in security protocol, it is not only the police, it is not only them but it is the entire nation that would be put on bad light,” he stressed. (Aaron Recuenco)
