The Oriental Negros police deputy director defied a sub poena for him to appear before the fact-finding commission of the National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas, that is probing the alleged beating up of NBI agents from Bacolod City, in Pamplona by town policemen on Feb. 4.

Chief Inspector Julius Salingan Muñez, deputy provincial director of the Philippine National Police in Oriental Negros, was summoned by the NBI fact-finding team headed by NBI acting regional director Medardo de Lemos, to shed light on the controversial mauling incident that has already reached the attention of top officials of the Philippine National Police and NBI.

The NBI Dumaguete office said, Muñez stated that much has been said about the incident, and that his first report to the regional command, copy furnished the NBI office, will already suffice.

Muñez said he believes that he will not get a fair treatment before an NBI probe body because NBI agents were involved in the case, and he is also looking after his personal safety. He said it would have been better if an independent body is conducting an investigation or a joint probe as suggested by Dumaguete NBI chief Dominador Cimafranca.

On Monday, four of the nine armed men who said they were NBI agents and barged into the premises of the Pamplona Plantation Center were charged with usurpation of authority by the company's officer-in-charge Leah Bobon. Bobon claimed only two of the armed men were special investigators of the NBI from Bacolod - Menci Mapaspas and Edgardo Kawada -- and the rest were not.

Accused of violating provisions of Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code were Benjie Belleza who is from the Philippine Taekwondo Association in Bacolod; Francis Ramos, driver of NBI-Bacolod; Cyrun Alosan alias Syrus Alazan, and Eric Jamio alias Eric Plamco, both of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation Central office.

The NBI and BID men had gone to Pamplona to serve a search warrant to Korean national Ha Hae Bong for alleged illegal gun possession, when they were beaten up by the Pamplona policemen who did not believe they were NBI men.

NBI-Bacolod agent-in-charge Philip Pecache has dismissed as a "diversionary tactic" the charges filed against his men.*JG

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