Pasig police chief faces axe over LRTA row

The chief of police of Pasig City may be relieved over the "unlawful" deployment of 12 SWAT (special weapons and tactics) operatives that caused tension at the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) premises in Santolan on February 14. This, as Senior Superintendent Francisco Uyami could not explain to Chief Superintendent Luisito Ticman and LRTA chief Mel Robles why the said operatives were deployed in the said area at the time. Worse, Uyami claimed to be unaware on who were deployed in the area. Robles has filed a complaint before the National Police Commission (Napolcom), seeking the administrative relief of Uyami and his men pending the outcome of the probe to prevent them from influencing the results of the investigation. Ticman, Uyami and Robles discussed the controversy at the LRTA offices in Pasay City Friday. In the meeting, Uyami said the SWAT personnel were deployed allegedly over a "bomb threat" in the area. In a phone interview, Robles said Uyami claimed to not knowing the identities of the SWAT men who went to the area. Second, the police official claimed that the operatives were sent there responding to information that public transport drivers were staging a protest action in the area. "The rally was supposed to be between 10 and 12 noon of Feb. 14. But the SWAT men stayed there until 2 p.m.," Robles said in a phone interview. In the meeting, Uyami was said to have been given bawled out by Ticman. He was said to have been reminded that the LRTA is a P50-billion government business providing transportation and the presence of heavily armed men at its premises for no apparent reason would send a wrong signal to the public. In the February 14 incident, 12 Pasig City SWAT operatives said to be led by Senior Inspector Reydante Ariza and Senior Police Officer 3 Andreo Mendez stormed the LRTA premises brandishing their high-powered firearms. The incident came following the LRTA’s decision to rescind the lease contract it entered into with the Metro East Grand Transport Federation (Megatraf) owned by one William Juan over a 2,000 sq.meter LRTA property in Santolan for a P242,000-monthly rental. The area is being used by Juan as terminal for PUVs and FX vans for a fee. The one-year contract was signed July 15, 2005. It took effect Jan. 9, 2006 and would have expired Jan. 9 next year. But the Megatraf defaulted on its obligations and was able to pay only the rental for the first month. Because of Megatraf’s arrears of P1,963,000 and other serious contractual breaches it committed, the LRTA decided to rescind the lease contract on Nov. 1, 2006. In a letter dated Feb. 12, 2007, Juan sought a rally permit from Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio which seeks to, among others, "disarm all LRTA security guards and LRTA police force and remove them from the subject area." "I cannot believe that Col. Uyami is not aware of the Pasig City SWAT operations in our LRTA office in Pasig. If Uyami’s men would conduct operations without his knowledge, he does not deserve to be there," Robles said. - GMANews.TV