Cop caught using cocaine in posh Taguig club faces raps

Redentor Bautista (Photo courtesy of Southern Police District via PNA)

MANILA — National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) head, Director Guillermo Eleazar, on Thursday said the rookie policeman caught sniffing cocaine inside an upscale Taguig City club will face dismissal proceedings soon.

PO1 Redentor Bautista, 34, assigned at the Manila Police District (MPD) Police Station 1, was arrested on Wednesday night for sniffing cocaine inside the Island Palace Club at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City.

Eleazar confronted and scolded Bautista at the Taguig City Police Station where the police officer is detained.

“Anong klaseng pulis ka nasa isang club nag-cocaine? Bakit nandun ka? Absent ka, sa anti-crime ka hindi mo ba alam full alert tayo. Wala kang karapatan mag stay sa pulis. Mag resign ka na (What kind of police officer are you, sniffing cocaine inside a club? Why were you there? You’re absent, you’re in the anti-crime and we’re in full alert. You don’t have the right to stay in the force. You should resign),” Eleazar told Bautista.

The NCRPO chief vowed the dismissal of erring policemen after undergoing due process.

“No sacred cows for people who are using drugs and to those who are selling especially that they are uniformed personnel,” he said.

He added that the PNP is serious in its internal cleansing program and continuously conduct intelligence operations to weed out rogue police personnel from the force.

Meanwhile, Senior Supt, Eliseo dela Cruz, acting director of Southern Police District (SPD), said the apprehension of Bautista was made after responding to a call for police assistance from club employee Gary Palma when he saw the police officer using prohibited drugs inside the comfort room of the establishment.

Bautista yielded a transparent zip lock reusable plastic storage containing white substance suspected to be cocaine, weighing around 0.4 grams, and a piece of small cut straw.

The suspect was brought to the Police Community Precinct 7 in BGC but was later turned over to the Station Drug Enforcement Unit in Taguig City where he underwent drug testing pending the filing of drug raps against him.

“The PNP does not tolerate any irregularities of its members and has zero tolerance and no compromise on our personnel involved in illegal drugs. They will suffer the full consequence of their actions and have no reason to stay as members of our organization,” dela Cruz said.