CIDG files criminal, admin raps vs Kalinga village chief
A BARANGAY chairman in Tinglayan, Kalinga, accused of leading some 150 bolo-wielding constituents in forcibly grabbing five of their fellows arrested by the local police for marijuana cultivation last April 25 has been charged with criminal and administrative offenses by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
Chairman Leon Lammawen Baydon of Bgy. Buscalan in Tinglayan municipality was charged with grave misconduct before the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon last May 20 and obstruction of justice or violation of Presidential Decree 1829 before the Tabuk City Prosecutor’s Office last Monday, said PNP-CIDG Director Major General Eliseo DC Cruz.
The official said the criminal and administrative cases were filed against the barangay chief by the CIDG Kalinga/Apayao Field Unit and the Kalinga Provincial Police Office.
An investigation showed that last April 25, members of the Cordillera Police Regional Mobile Force Battalions’ 1502nd Maneuver Company arrested five residents while cultivating marijuana plants along the mountainous area of Bgy. Buscalan.
Also confiscated from the five were some illegal firearms in violation of the nationwide gun ban.
However, while the policemen and the five were on their way to Centro Buscalan, the village chief, joined by some 150 local residents who were all armed with bolos, surrounded the officers and forcibly took the five arrested persons who were set to be taken to the local police headquarters for filing of charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and the Omnibus Election Code.
The outnumbered policemen were forced to maintain their calm during the tense situation since it could have turned into a “bloodbath” had they stood firm on their ground and tried to repel the bolo-wielding residents.
“The filing of these cases against Baydon is proof that the CIDG does not choose to whom the law should be enforced. Whatever their status, position, or affinity to whomever, the CIDG will make them accountable for their crimes,” Maj. Gen. Cruz said. By Alfred Dalizon
