Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 10) — Quezon City police involved in a catcalling incident in Katipunan Avenue have been relieved and charged Thursday.
In a statement, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director, said that they cannot tolerate such behavior.
“We will never tolerate any misbehaviour or worse by any of our personnel and will immediately act to discipline or penalize culprits,” Eleazar said.
The culprits were identified as PO2 Rick Tanguilan and PO1 Domingo Nagales Cena.
Tanguilan and Cena were relieved from their posts and will be charged with City Ordinance 2501, which penalizes catcalling.
The victim, “Carmela”, said she was on her way home last November 2 along Katipunan Avenue when she heard catcalls from police officers in a slow-moving patrol car.
Eleazar then ordered to investigate all the police patrol cars in the area.
“Nag–backtrack tayo mula noong gabi ng Nov. 2, 2017 at base sa kuha ng mga CCTV malapit sa lugar, lumalabas na ang police mobile 235 na lulan sila PO2 Tanguilan at PO1 Cena ang napatunayan na andoon sa oras na yon,” Eleazar said.
[Translation: We backtracked from the night of Nov. 2 2017 and based on CCTV footage near the area, the police mobile with PO2 Tanguilan and PO1 were there in the area at that time.]
Their supervisor, SPO1 Ariel Camiling, will also face administrative raps for dishonesty. Camiling tried to cover up for Tanguilan and Cena when he reportedly claimed he was the one in the car.
Quezon City is the only city in the Philippines with a law penalizing catcalling and sexual harassment.
The ordinance, which was passed last year, punishes violators by paying a fine ranging from P1,000 to P5,000 or a jail term of up to a month.
Last February, Senator Rosa Hontiveros filed a similar bill, protecting women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community from harassment. The bill aims to complement the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law of 1995.
