Media groups decry assault on journalist by policeman

By Mar T. Supnad

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Media groups  in Central Luzon decried Tuesday the alleged assault on a local newsman in Tarlac by a police officer with a shady record and called on the director of the Police Regional Office 3 to initiate both administrative and criminal investigations.

Nelson Bolos, a local newsman, who also writes for the Northern Philippine Times had filed a complaint against PO1 Rogelio Almazan, assigned to the Gerona Municipal Police Station (MPS), before the PRO3 Director’s Office for allegedly punching him in the abdomen with a clenched right index finger.

In his complaint to Chief Supt. Rudy Lacadin, Bolos said: “Almazan is an abusive and arrogant policeman. He badmouthed me and hit my abdomen several times with his clenched right index finger.”

Bolos said he drew the ire of PO1 Almazan for assisting a local businessman in demanding the return of two .45caliber pistols which he had entrusted to the policeman in 2009.

He said that the businessman has a license of ownership for one of the guns, while the other was supposed to be applied for a license by PO1 Almazan.

To this day, however, PO1 Almazan has refused to return the two handguns because, apparently, he had already sold them, Bolos said.

As this developed, George Hubierna of People’s Journal and past president of the Camp Olivas Press Club, said: “Such kind of abusive policemen have no room in a democratic country like ours since he is a threat to legitimate newsmen.”

Bolos said there is a reason why Almazan has not been promoted since joining the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 2005 and that is allegedly because of the lawman’s involvement in various administrative cases and extortion.

“During the time of (Superintendent) Zafra as police chief of Gerona in 2013, I personally witnessed his mulcting of some truck drivers at the police checkpoint along the Mac Arthur Highway. He was strongly reprimanded then by Zafra when a number of local truck owners complained to him of Almazan’s demand for P5,000 for every truck of palay passing their checkpoint,” Bolos said.

“Hanggang ngayon meron pa rin akong naririnig na kino-kotongan niyang mga negosyante sa Gerona.Takot lang sa kanya kaya hindi sila makapagsumbong. At marami sa mga kasamahan niyang pulis ang galit sa kanya” (Up to now,I can still hear complaints from businessmen with whom Almazan has reportedly gotten grease money. They cannot just complain out of fear and even his own colleagues are mad at him),” he added.