Two agrarian reform beneficiaries have filed multiple-complaints against Isabela Mayor Renato Malabor, the town police chief, and six others before the Office of the Ombudsman for the Visayas.

But Malabor and Isabela police chief, Senior Inspector Virgilio Antipatia de la Cruz, yesterday dismissed the charges against them as fabricated and designed to harass.

Complainants Rudy Deocades and Renato Mandiuya, in a joint affidavit, said they are agrarian reform beneficiaries and members of the Sitio Pangpang Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

They said that on Feb. 10, 2008 while on the private road of the property of the cooperative in Hacienda Conchita, Barangay Camangcamang, Isabela, Negros Occidental, they were surprised to see Malabor talking with cooperative board members Dante Santarde and Eliseo Ellasgo.

The mayor was accompanied by his civilian bodyguards – Jose Valois, Roberto Noble, Richard Latabe and Dindolf Gayuten – and two policemen – PO1 Fortunato Bais and P01 Michael Tupaz – who were armed with M-16 rifles.

Deocades and Mandiuya also said that as they neared the group the two policemen suddenly raised their rifles at them and ordered them to stop, in their affidavit furnished the DAILY STAR by DYEZ Aksyon radio yesterday.

They said they raised their hands and Tupaz frisked them while Bais kept his rifle aimed at them. Deocades also said Tupaz surreptitiously tucked a firearm in his side and announced “Mayor they are armed”.

Deocades said the mayor then replied, don’t remove the firearm, take a picture first.

The two also said they saw the group of the mayor taking pictures of wooden signages the coop put up to inform the public that the property was owned by the coop.

They said the mayor then ordered Valois to destroy the wooden signages causing damage to the coop’s property, and haul the material on to his truck.

Deocades said he was then compelled by the group to go with them to the police station, and that the policemen unlawfully took the KMX Kawasaki motorcycle he was using and charges were filed against him for illegal possession of a .38 caliber revolver.

They said, contrary to the affidavit of Bais and Tupaz, the property that the mayor had visited was not being leased by him but was owned by their cooperative.

Deocades and Mandiuya filed criminal cases for illegal threats, grave coercion and malicious mischief before the Ombudsman against Malabor and his alleged bodyguards Valois, Noble, Latabe and Gayuten.

They also filed seven complaints against  De la Cruz, Bais and Tupaz for  false testimony, negligence and tolerance, light threats, grave coercion,  malicious mischief, failure to observe rights of an arrested person and  irregularity in performance of duty.*CPG

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