A certain Itty Gaerlan posted on Facebook on August 29 her story about the brother-in-law, Rene, of her friend Sally, who was arrested by the police in one of their Oplan TokHang operations in the shanties.
It showed the police draining the last money from the wallets of the guy’s family.
“Sally had P400 in her wallet, the sister P1,000. When the wallets were returned, their money was gone. Sally asked about this. The police said, “Para sa pagod na namin ‘yun,” Itty narrated.
She also described the police as “rough and tough” on the arrested guy. “Sally saw the neighbor’s wife practically stripped naked while being body-searched, her face on the concrete floor.”
The police even threatened Sally and her sister.
“To Sally and her sister, the police asked: ’Aayusin ‘nyo ba ‘to o tutuluyan na namin?’” she wrote.
Itty added that the police tried to extort as much as P15,000 from the poor family, who expectedly could not produce money and who had to call a well-to-do friend to borrow some money and bring legal counsel.
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Since the arrest happened on the weekend and August 29 was a holiday, they were only able to find a lawyer who talked to the police over the phone. Only then did the policeman straighten up and demurred, “reducing to violation of the city ordinance banning drinking liquor in the streets.”
Instead of P15,000, Itty said the lawyer advised Sally to raise P5,000 as ‘insurance’ for Rene until his release.
Rene’s drug test also turned up negative.
Itty said that Sally told her the cops conduct nightly saturation drives in their neighborhood, which prompted her to suggest for Sally to move her family to another place, where they can all have peace of mind.
Addressing President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, she said:
“Why? Why the different treatment of the poor? Why the almost nightly saturation drives? Can you not get your suspects in one operation? Why do the police feel entitled to all these unreceipted fees? Why their brazenness? Were Mayor Espinosa, Peter Lim and Hero Bautista likewise body-searched, with their faces kissing the untidy precinct floor? Shouldn’t you make public attorneys available even in the dead of the night for those who can’t afford private ones, because maybe – just maybe – there were some mistakes in your lists? Some mistaken identities, perhaps? Bago sumikat ang araw at sila’y “tuluyan”???”
As of writing, Itty’s post has been shared 1,093 times.
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