Cops in abduction sued; victim headless in ravine

>> Sunday, December 20, 2020

Cordillera police chief: Suspects in custody 

BAGUIO CITY – Criminal and administrative charges have been filed against two members of the Police Regional Cordillera Drug Enforcement Unit behind the abduction of a 25-year-old man, who was taken away eve of Typhoon “Ulysses” in November and found headless in a ravine in Tublay, Benguet the following day.
    Baguio City Police Office chief Lt. Allen Rae Co told a press briefing Wednesday they identified the suspects responsible for the death of Harjan Pacyao Lagman, driver and resident of Barangay Irisan, Baguio, from a closed-circuit television footage.
    Lagman was reported missing at BCPO Station 9 on Nov. 12 while his body was discovered in a ravine along km 20 in Sitio Gulon, Barangay Ambassador.
    The victim’s father said he gathered from witnesses’ accounts that his son was handcuffed and dragged away by unidentified men and forced into a van on Nov. 11.
    Lagman was identified through his clothes, built and a scar on his left foot.
    The video footage of the abduction was posted on social media. The faces of the suspects were screen-grabbed and also posted by family, relatives and friends of the victim.
    The video showed both suspects were with other men when they abducted the victim and forced him into their car whose plates were reportedly found to be stolen. 
    “It is very sad that the suspects are members of the PROCor Drug Enforcement Unit,” Co said. “The police do not tolerate such action, no matter or regardless of who they are.”
    He said the suspects have been disarmed and cases are being readied against them.
    Co said that although the suspects were positively identified as Lagman’s abductors, it does not mean that they were responsible for the death of the victim.
    Police are investigating while searching for the victim’s head.
    The two members of the Cordillera regional police’s anti-drug unit are being held under restrictive custody while being investigated for the abduction and gruesome killing.
    Regional police director Brig. Gen. R’win Pagkalinawan, in a statement Wednesday, confirmed the lawmen were identified as suspects, but did not name them.
    “I am saddened and shocked that a crime this brutal was committed by members of our police force. Though historically we know that beheading enemies used to be a part of the culture of the Cordilleras, in these modern times, it is anathema to contemporary society,” Pagkalinawan said.
    Pagkalinawan, in his statement, said the incident brought down the morale of the whole police force of Cordillera.
    “But it is worth noting that it was we ourselves who investigated, identified, and will be the ones to file the case against the perpetrators, notwithstanding the fact that they are our brothers in arms. We reiterate that this is an isolated incident,” he said.
    Meanwhile, Co said the two suspect policemen were identified from among four males caught on video while forcing Lagman into a vehicle.
    The duo are denying involvement so investigators are still trying to identify the other two, who may be civilian agents, he said.
    Co said they received information that Lagman had been using drugs, but noted that this will not matter in the investigation.
    “Whether he was a criminal or a normal citizen ay hindi po tama yung ginawa sa kanya,” he said, adding that the victim’s head has yet to be found.
    Pagkalinawan dissolved the Drug Enforcement Unit after the arrest of the two suspects.
    Baguio mayor Benjamin Magalong meanwhile said the two suspects have been positively identified as members of the RDEU and proposed charges will be filed against them.

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