Bungled raid on newsman defended

THE police director of Bulacan twice linked to gross human rights violation—‘salvaging’ of crime suspects—insisted the raid his men conducted at the house of a veteran journalist last September 23, 2020, was done “in accordance with proper procedure.”

P/Col. Lawrence Cajipe, in a statement that was far removed from the facts narrated by Orlan Mauricio and as shown by CCTV footages, insisted his operatives, led by Bulacan intelligence chief, P/Maj. Jansky Andrew Jaafar, “were just doing their job of implementing the law” and without “violating the human rights” of Mauricio and his family.

Mauricio, a lifetime member of the National Press Club (NPC), said he was about to take his dinner together with his wife and househelp past 5:30pm at their residence at Felicisima Village, Bgy. Mojon, Malolos City, when more than 20 armed men—not in police uniform—barged inside, pointed guns at them and started a search of the premises.

His statement that the raid took place around that time as evidenced by CCTV footages, is contrary to Cajipe’s press release that the raid took place at “7:30pm” and that the search was done in an orderly manner.

The raiders were armed with two search warrants issued by Judge Nemesio Manlangit of the Municipal Trial Court of Bulacan for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

The firearms, purportedly, one .45 caliber, one .25 caliber and one 9mm, purportedly belonged to Mauricio’s son, Oliver Paul—who does not live with him.

In 2009, news reports tagged then P/SInsp. Lawrence Cajipe and 4 of his men from the Manila Police District (previously Western Police District), for the summary execution of three “snatchers” whose bodies were dumped by Cajipe’s group in Tagaytay City.

But one of the victims, Edison Castillo, managed to survive to tell of their harrowing experience.

Cajipe and his men got off the hook by “settling” the case with Castillo but in a manner that raised the eyebrows of then Sen. Rene Cayetano, who had the incident investigated by the Senate.

Early in the same year, Cajipe, according to a GMA Newsonline report dated January 6, 2009, was among the 9 members of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) who were slapped with administrative cases for a “shootout” in Parañaque City involving “robbery gang” members.

While securing the encounter site, Cajipe and his group then peppered with bullets a passing vehicle killing all the civilians on board.

Maurico said that after “ransacking” his house for more than 2 hours, not a single bullet was found by the armed men and that the “evidence” of his alleged use of illegal drugs were all planted by Jaafar and his men.

Mauricio had filed a case against the policemen before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Central Luzon office the following day and also requested for NBI protection.

He also dared Cajipe, the members of the raiding team and Bulacan governor, Daniel Fernando, for all of them to take a drug test to prove who among them are actually taking illegal drugs.

The National Press Club (NPC) had also issued a statement condemning the joint effort of the Bulacan PNP and the sala of Judge Manlangit to harass Mauricio “for political ends”  right after the incident.

NPC Vice President Paul Gutierrez added the Club would not take the incident lightly.

“We will petition for the conduct of a more thorough investigation and the relief of Cajipe and all those involved in the raid,” he said.