GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/10 September) — Police officials here have launched an investigation into the involvement of one of its key officers in an alleged hazing activity involving several newly-hired police personnel.
Supt. Rolly Octavio, deputy city police director for administration, said Wednesday they are currently looking into the supposed participation of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit head Insp. Ryan Jay Capurcos in a hazing incident that reportedly happened inside the City Police Office compound in Camp Fermin Lira here.
He said Capurcos was directly linked to the alleged hazing activity in a video posted last September 3 in social media site Youtube.
The one minute and 36-second video, which appeared to have been shot covertly, showed an unidentified person beating another with a stick while ordering some form of punishment to others.
The incident reportedly happened inside the headquarters of the City Police Public Safety Company.
The faces of the involved persons were not recognizable but a photo of Capurcos with detailed full name, rank, serial number and assigned unit was placed at the bottom right portion of the video.
The video, which was posted under a Youtube account with user name kittenmeow001, already registered nearly 600 views as of Wednesday morning.
Octavio said they could not yet make any conclusion whether Capurcos was indeed the person that figured in the hazing video.
He said they could not immediately identify the faces of the involved persons in the video as some portions of it were hazy and dim.
“Our investigators are presently looking into the veracity of the video and checking the identity of the persons involved,” he said.
Octavio said that if the video would be proven authentic, sanctions would be slapped against the erring police officers and personnel.
He reiterated that hazing is illegal and they don’t tolerate any similar activity within their ranks.
“Those supposedly involved in the hazing video were not police trainees but were already professional policemen with the ranks of PO1 (Police Officer 1),” he pointed out.
“They know what is right and wrong, and they have an obligation to report to proper authorities any wrongful activity that they see or witness,” he added.
Capurcos refused to issue any comment regarding the supposed hazing video, which was described by sources close to him as “malicious.”
The police officer has sought the help of personnel from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group’s Regional Digital Forensic Laboratory-12 for the identification of the person who posted the video at Youtube.
City Councilor Franklin Gacal Jr., chair of the city council’s committee on public order and safety, expressed support to the investigation launched by the City Police Office regarding the hazing video.
He said the city police should get into the bottom of the incident and impose appropriate sanctions on all those involved if the hazing video turns out authentic.
“If a police officer would treat a subordinate like this, I will not be surprised if they will treat ordinary citizens in a similar manner,” he said. (MindaNews)
