Caught on Tape: Drunk Police Chief, Rams Media Vehicle, Attacks TV Crew

[iamkristopher]

Sibak na siya as chief.

Possible 90 day suspension daw. Ano iyan, lokohan? Dapat tanggal na sa serbisyo, plus kulong pa. Tapang kasi masyado e, ayan.

[herbularyo]

Ito naman ang side ni Chief para balance. You be the judge.

Sunstar Cebu
21 September, 2007

‘Show entire tape’

THE lawyer of a Mandaue City police official accused of attacking a TV news crew yesterday challenged the management of ABS-CBN to air the “full and unedited” footage of the incident.

Lawyer Nestor Archival said that his client, Senior Insp. Jose Liddawa, is the “real victim” in the incident.

“Bun-og kaayo si Liddawa (Liddawa was badly bruised),” said Archival of the relieved Subangdaku police station chief. He added that Liddawa, who still has not reported for work, was mauled during the incident.

ABS-CBN, according to station manager Veneranda “Tata” Cinco-Sy, will cooperate with any investigation and that their lawyers are looking into the matter.

Archival challenged ABS-CBN to investigate the news team involved in the incident, accusing the station’s employees of also being under the influence of liquor at that time.

The lawyer is asking the Philippine National Police to get to the bottom of the incident and not rely on information supplied by the media.

Archival said that what happened last Tuesday was a “simple” vehicular accident. He said his client may be blamed for the accident but not for the altercation that erupted shortly after the collision.

Archival said that after the Hyundai sedan Liddawa was driving veered off its lane and collided with the Nissan Frontier of ABS-CBN, the police official immediately got off the car to check the damage. But someone who came out of ABS-CBN’s vehicle allegedly punched him in the face.

The attack, according to Archival, prompted the police officer to get back inside his car to get his gun, which a companion kept.

“Kadtong footage nga ilang gipakita nga murag yawa si Liddawa nga nigawas gikan sa sakyanan, ikaduha nato niya nga gawas.

Suko kaayo siya kay nasukmagan na siya ato. Na-provoke siya,” Archival said. (The footage they aired that showed Liddawa appearing to have lost it while coming out of the vehicle was the second time he went out of his car. He was really angry after he was punched. He was provoked.)

Versions

According to the ABS-CBN news report on the incident, Liddawa and the TV crew got out of their vehicles after the collision. An argument then erupted and Liddawa punched cameraman Joel Noel. Liddawa had a confrontation with reporter Ramil Paican and punched Noel in the face.

An ABS-CBN footage aired during its late afternoon newscast, TV Patrol Central Visayas, showed Liddawa cursing and telling the news crew that he was a policeman.

Paican, who was in the pickup together with cameraman Allan Almendras and driver Samuel Trangia, said they tried to pacify Liddawa. The police officer, however, kept on shouting, “Pulis ako.”

The report said that Liddawa fell on the ground and lost consciousness and the TV crew later took him to a private hospital in Cebu City.

But Archival said they have credible witnesses who will testify that Liddawa’s actions were in response to the punch he received. He said Liddawa kept on identifying himself as a policeman so the crew would not harm him again.

He also denied that Liddawa passed out because he was drunk.

“Nakuyapan si Liddawa kay gitabangan siya og kulata, apan wa’a na makita sa footage. Dili pud ang ABS-CBN ang mida’a niya sa ospital kon dili ang mobile patrol nga mi-responde,” said Archival. (Liddawa passed out because he was mauled. ABS-CBN did not bring him to the hospital; it was the mobile patrol who responded to the incident.)

Archival, however, said that right now, they are not inclined to file charges against the TV crew.

3 days

Liddawa still has not reported for work since the incident. Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Silverio Alarcio Jr. said he will give Liddawa until Monday to explain why he should not be charged over the incident.

Alarcio said a notice for the charge against Liddawa was already served last Wednesday by registered mail, since the person tasked to serve the notice could not locate the officer.

The maximum penalty for the offense is dismissal from service, depending on the findings of the investigating body.

“Dismissal is the maximum penalty but we will give him three days to answer the charges and based on his reply, the investigating body shall make recommendations on the next steps to take, whether he should face dismissal proceedings or the case should be dismissed,” Alarcio said.

In an interview with reporters at the Cebu City Hall yesterday, he assured the policeman he will be given due process and will go through a hearing before penalties are imposed on him.

If Liddawa still does not answer the charges by Monday, Alarcio said he can decide what to do with the police officer.

“He has not reported to his assignment so if he still does not reply, we can consider it a waiver of his rights and from there we can already make a decision after three days,” he added.

Gets help

Liddawa’s actions were condemned by his colleagues in the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Alumni Association-Central Visayas Chapter.

Supt. Pablo Labra II, the regional association’s president, said that Liddawa has to face whatever sanctions will be imposed on him as a consequence of his actions.

“We condemn his actuation. This is an act unbecoming of a PNPAer,” he said.

Labra, however, said that Liddawa will receive financial assistance contributed by his fellow police officers. The amount is expected to cover his hospital bills and help him with legal expenses.

Labra, who visited Liddawa in the hospital, said the official is remorseful and is consulting his lawyer on the possibility of filing counter-charges.

When asked if Liddawa confided to him how he got his bruises, Labra said that the officer could not recall how it happened.

But Liddawa’s relative, who was with him during the incident, said the police officer was mauled, Labra said. (KNT/JST/LCR)


http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb...ire.tape..html

[170kphlang]

first of all dapat hindi siya naglasing tapos nagmaneho pa... di ba labag na agad yun..

[falken]

Sibakin na iyan! Not only was he drunk, he's still drunk with power.

[Flagg]

Kung guilty man sya o hindi ng assault, that's up to competent authority to decide.

Pero yung 'maximum penalty' na dismissal from service... diba masyado light yun for his offense?

AFAIK, DUI is a crime. Diba dapat may criminal charges din?

[Lucius]

Isang example na naman to ng PULIS na matapang. Pero pag kaharap ay mukhang mapera...........

"SIR......."

Nakakahiya. Pano naman yung mga pulis na malinis. Dapat dito ikulong

[VtEC]

problema kse sa mga local law enforcement natin e nakalimutan na nila na kaya cla may trabaho ay dahil sa taong bayan at taxes natin ngbabayad ng sweldo nila. dapat sa mga pulis e lagyan ng tattoo sa noo "public servant" o kaya "to serve and protect" pg graduate nila pra hindi nila makalimutan ang pinasok nilang trabaho

me punto nga!!dapat yata headband, at nakasulat don public servant or salary paid by the people of the philippines.oh, para fair naman, sa lahat pala ng government employees including the stupid politicians

[quiksie]

i smell cover-up :twak:

[herbularyo]

Guys, since I started this thread, it is my duty to give updates especially on the side of the police chief for the sake of fair play:

SUNSTAR - CEBU

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
'I saw TV crew beat him up'

A POLICEMAN who happened to pass by the highway in Mandaue City claimed that three TV crew members of ABS-CBN were beating up Senior Insp. Jose Liddawa’s companion when he arrived.

PO1 Calixto Perez of the Regional Mobile Group 7 had just come from a checkpoint and was looking for a place to eat when he saw the commotion.

Perez told reporters that he saw three men beating up a man, which was why he came up to them and stopped them from hitting the man, who turned out to be Daniel Bravo, Liddawa’s cousin.

Bravo then reportedly hid behind Perez and asked him not to leave him.

Perez said he identified himself as a police officer and spoke with a man wearing a red shirt, who was later identified as reporter Ramil Paican.

He said Paican had tried to stop two other men from hitting Bravo.

Perez then asked where the man wearing a polo shirt had gone to and Paican told him the man already left. Perez added that Paican admitted the man was his cameraman.

Asked why he did not arrest those who were mauling Bravo, Perez said he shifted his focus on Liddawa, who was already on the ground.

“I focused on the injured person. When I pulled him out, I later recognized him as Liddawa,” Perez said.

Perez said he was familiar with Liddawa because during the Asean summit last January, he was assigned as a driver while Liddawa was tasked to dispatch them.

Perez also disputed an earlier report filed by ABS-CBN, claiming they were the ones who took Liddawa to a hospital.

“I tried to hail a taxicab, but then the Acert van of Mandaue City arrived. None of the ABS-CBN personnel even helped when I pulled Liddawa up from the ground,” he said.

Liddawa, who also faced reporters, said he has no plans of running away from his responsibility.

He admitted he was at fault when it came to the vehicular accident.

However, he urged the management of ABS-CBN to report everything.

“Nasaktan ka pa, sirain ka pa sa publiko (They hurt me then they try to ruin my reputation),” he said.

Liddawa’s lawyer Noel Archival said that they were certain about the participation of Paican and cameraman Joel Noel. They have yet to establish the identities of three others.

However, he said the network’s credibility is at stake if they do not come out with the “truth.”

Archival said Liddawa’s actuations were not an assault on the press because he did not know who he was dealing with.

“Gamay ra unta ning butanga. Ilang gipalabas sa tibuok Pilipinas nga si Joe Liddawa murag buang (This could have been settled amicably but they had to make it appear to the rest of the country that my client is crazy),” Archival said.

PNP Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Silverio Alarcio Jr. admitted receiving text messages about the news crew’s involvement in Liddawa’s injuries, but said these needed to be verified.

“We need to validate these so we can come up with a very fair decision, as far as the administrative case is concerned,” he said.

Asked if the TV crew and the management could be held criminally liable, Alarcio said this was up to Liddawa to decide if he wanted to press charges.

“He is the aggrieved party. If he wants to file a case against them, he has the right,” Alarcio said.

He had wanted to talk to Liddawa and ask him for his side of the story but failed to contact him.

Liddawa, though, reported to the PRO 7 yesterday morning and talked to Chief Supt. Ronald Roderos, Alarcio’s deputy.

cannot deny

“We cannot deny the fact that he misbehaved, by his actuations on TV. But the other story might be a mitigating circumstance,” Alarcio told reporters.

Part of the investigation will be to get the statements of all sides and footage from the news crew.

Perez claimed he saw a cameraman recording Bravo’s mauling.

When he watched the news report on the incident, he was surprised that the tone of the story had changed.

“The bystanders did not touch Liddawa. Even the storeowners nearby said that it was only the passengers of the pick-up who beat Liddawa up,” Perez said. (MEA)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb...t.him.up..html

[herbularyo]

Ito naman from the side of the TV Station management:

Sunstar - Cebu

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
ABS-CBN investigating employees involved in incident

TV network ABS-CBN is investigating its employees who were allegedly involved in the drunken incident with Senior Insp. Jose Liddawa last Sept. 17.

“Ang management mismo nagduda nga namakak sila. Simple logic would tell you that there’s something wrong with the footage. Kusgan pa gud kaayo si Liddawa unya nikalit lang ug kahagba (Even the management suspected something was wrong... earlier in the footage Liddawa still looked composed and all of a sudden he’s down on the ground),” said a source who asked not to be named.

The source told Sun.Star Cebu that reporter Ramil Paican, cameramen Joel Noel and Allan Almendras and driver Samuel Trangia are “grounded” pending investigation.

The same source also disclosed that the management is angry with Paican and companions for twisting the story by saying that Liddawa lost consciousness because he was drunk when in fact they mauled him.

Management also did not like it that Paican allegedly stood by his story instead of telling the truth when confronted about the incident.

caught on video

The insider revealed that Paican and companions indeed mauled Liddawa. The mauling was allegedly caught on video but was not aired upon Paican’s instructions.

Sun.Star Cebu tried to contact ABS-CBN for their comment, but station manager Veneranda “Tata” Cinco-Sy was already out of the office.

Roselyn, the one who answered the phone, said only Sy can comment on the issue.

Sy earlier said that management will cooperate with any investigation and that their lawyers were already looking into the matter.

Meanwhile, the source narrated the “real story” behind the incident.

The source said that employees of the network saw the Hyundai Sedan of Liddawa running in a zigzag pattern, prompting them to stop, but they still got hit.

Thinking he was the victim of the accident, Liddawa then got out of his car fuming mad.

Liddawa punched Noel as shown in the video footage aired in the late afternoon newscast last Sept. 18.

The source said that Noel, who was also under the influence of liquor, mocked Liddawa, making the situation more tense.

“What angered Liddawa the most was when Noel went to his car and got his car keys,” said the insider.

They run

The source also revealed that those who mauled Liddawa were from ABS-CBN. The employees allegedly helped one another in hurting Liddawa even if the latter was already down.

What happened to Liddawa prompted his companion to run.

Paican and his companions allegedly ran after the cousin of Liddawa but an off-duty policeman saw them.

“Gitionan pa gyud na og armas sa polis silang Noel kay gigukod man nila ang kauban ni Liddawa (The policeman even aimed a gun at Noel and companions because they were chasing Liddawa),” said the source. (KNT)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb....incident.html