CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The municipal police chief of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental was sacked from his post after he went viral on social media for brandishing his gun to a group of young individuals while allegedly drunk before dawn on Friday, December 8.
FACEBOOK user Narabo Costo shares an online post showing videos of an allegedly Police Capt. Enrique Dungog (left) in the town plaza of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, around 3 a.m. on December 8. (Screengrab from Narabo Costo's Facebook post)
Viral videos posted by Facebook user Narabo Costo that had 3,000 shares showed a policeman allegedly under the influence of alcohol harassing a group of young individuals in the town plaza around 3 a.m.
Costo said in a post that the victims were just in the area to eat in a street food stall when the police officer shouted at them and drew his service firearm.
The uploader added that they went to the Tagoloan police station to report the incident but police personnel at that time did not listen to them and even asked him to delete the video as this could ruin their reputation.
In a statement released on Friday, the Misamis Oriental Police Provincial Office confirmed that Tagoloan Municipal Police Station chief Police Capt. Enrique Dungog was the police officer involved in the incident.
Misamis Oriental police chief Police Col. Cholijun Caduyac said they are currently conducting a thorough investigation on the incident and vowed that any misconduct committed by their policemen would be dealt with accordingly.
“MORPPO strongly condemns the wrongdoing of our men. We guarantee that there will be no whitewash in the investigation, and any infractions and misconduct perpetrated by our policemen will be dealt with accordingly and will never be tolerated,” Caduyac said.
Dungong and two other police personnel have been relieved from their positions and assignments to prevent them from influencing the investigation.
Policemen in Northern Mindanao have been involved in fracas that have been well-documented in the past years.
On June 4, 2022, a mother sought justice after her 18-year-old son was allegedly mauled by a policeman on Guno Gundaya St., Barangay 1, Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.
Read: https://mb.com.ph/2022/06/13/mother-seeks-justice-after-cop-mauls-son-in-misamis-oriental/
The mother said that her son, together with his three friends, was only playing mobile games prior to the incident and went outside their house to play on their bicycle when the incident happened at about 11 p.m.
The Gingoog police chief said that based on the explanation of Police Corporal Edkhin Taburada, the police officer accused of beating the victim, there was no mauling incident, and the victim just sustained slight injuries after he collided with the cemented portion of the area.
Meanwhile, in this city on October 23 last year, video footage that circulated online showed one police officer from Divisoria Police Station punching some of ten young individuals after they went down from a police mobile patrol outside the police station.
The Cagayan de Oro City Police Office conducted an investigation on the incident.
Police Major Joann Navarro, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao (PRO-10), said that despite these incidents, PRO-10 remains committed to delivering the highest standard of professional conduct.
“And any police officer proven to have committed any misconduct or wrongdoing will not be tolerated and will be meted out with appropriate disciplinary measures,” Navarro told the Manila Bulletin on Saturday, December 9.
Police Capt. Rodel Labadan replaced Dungog and serves as the officer-in-charge of the Tagoloan police.