The pain and agony of being dismissed from the service kicked in anew for Police Capt. Charlie Sustento Jr. when he saw his classmate who got emotional after being served with six-month suspension over a case relating to a police operation in Iloilo during the 2019 election period.
So in a media interview, Sustento could not help but blurt out his frustrations on the Office of the Ombudsman hurled accusations relating to corruption and unfair justice system.For Sustento, both the decisions against them are unfair as they are only doing their job as enforcers of the law.
But on Wednesday, Jan. 26, Sustento issued a joint statement with Police Lt. Col. Jonathan Pinuela apologizing to the Office of the Ombudsman for their outburst on the anti-graft court which both handed a decision against them in two separate cases.
Sustento, who was then a police major, and his two men were dismissed from the police service in 2017 over a case filed by two civilians relating to an alleged motorcycle theft while he was still the chief of police of Dumangas in Iloilo. He was reinstated recently but was meted with one rank demotion.
Pinuela, on the other hand, was ordered suspended last week over a case filed by a civilian on the implementation of gun ban during the 2019 elections also in Iloilo.
"I, Capt. Charlie Sustento Jr., would like to apologize to the Office of the Ombudsman and to Hon. Justice Samuel Martires for my emotional outburst last Jan. 20, 2022 during the media interview in Iloilo City. I was never my intention to tarnish the Ombudsman as an institution that is considered the defender of rights and protector of truth," he said in a statement released to the media.
Sustento said his outburst was a result of uncontrolled emotion when he learned that his classmate and friend, Lt. Col. Pinuela, was suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman.
"The said outburst is a result of seemingly unjustified decision against a good friend, a classmate, and an accomplished police officer, Lt. Col. Jonathan Pinuela who was suspended for 6 months after conducting a checkpoint as part of campaign towards an honest, credible election in Dumangas, Iloilo last 2019. his suspension came as a shock considering that I too was a victim of such injustice," said Sustento.
The two police officers also apologized to the leadership of the Philippine National Police and expressed willingness to undergo disciplinary measures.
Intervention
PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos said he talked with the two police officers during his recent visit in Iloilo after his attention was called by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año over the media reports on the outburst of two police officers against the Ombudsman and a local politician.
"I explained to the two officers that I understand their concerns but after talking to them they were really apologetic and remorseful because the emotion," said Carlos in a press briefing.
"I explained to them the disciplinary mechanism and the grievance mechanism that we have in the PNP and their decision is to subject themselves to the proceedings of the organization," he added.
Carlos also apologized to the Ombudsman over the incident.