Argao cops may face relief for not telling on chief who ‘slept’ with detainee

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Except for two, whom authorities will use as witnesses, all the policemen in Argao town in Cebu province might face relief for their failure to report their chief, who had allowed two female detainees to sleep in his quarters.  

“There’s no blind obedience…. The subordinate should tell their boss it is illegal,” Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro of the Central Visayas police, said in a press briefing on Friday, March 7.  

Argao police chief Major Ildefonso Miranda Jr was arrested for his alleged misconduct on Thursday during a raid conducted by the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).  

Ferro said the PNP had verified reports that Miranda allowed drug suspects Jean Claudia Villanueva de Guzman, 23; and Brenda Caminero Cutillar, 40 to sleep in his quarters and office, respectively, at the Argao police station instead of putting them behind bars. 

Yet his subordinates never reported what he was doing.  

Ferro reminded the policemen under Miranda that they should only follow a superior’s orders if these are in accordance with the law and preserves the police’s integrity.  

Miranda, originally from Bogo City, took the helm of Argao police in September 2019. Now detained at the regional police facility, he is facing criminal and administrative charges. – Rappler.com