6 PDEG cops in Cebu accused of kidnapping, torture

Cebu (CNN Philippines, May 9) — Two people have accused six policemen from the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) of kidnapping and torture during a supposed operation in Minglanilla, Cebu last March 26.

30-year-old Randolph Restauro from Talisay City said he was with his live-in partner Gemalen Elorde when policemen on board a motorcycle allegedly blocked their path and forced them inside a van.

In the vehicle, they were blindfolded with masking tape, but Elorde said she was able to get a glimpse of some of their abductors’ faces.

Restauro claimed they were brought to the PDEG Special Operations Unit (PDEG-SOU) headquarters in Camp Sergio Osmeña in Cebu City where he was repeatedly hit by hard objects, mauled, and tied upside down. He said after several hours of torture, they were later released near a convenience store in Minglanilla.

Restauro said it all started when he was playing around with a friend with a mobile messaging platform, where he posted cropped photos of shabu and joked that he wanted to sell the supposed drugs.

It was not clear how the PDEG got hold of the photos.

At the camp, the victims said they were being forced to produce the supposed illegal drugs which the policemen believed were in Restauro's possession.

Police in the region said the six officers were already relieved from their posts pending an investigation.

Although its office is inside Camp Sergio Osmena Sr., PDEG-SOU is not under the jurisdiction of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas.

The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) filed administrative and criminal complaints against the policemen at the Office of the Ombudsman for the Visayas on May 5.

This story will be updated.