Ex-cop in 2023 Cavite looting incident arrested, 6 others still at large

A former cop who was involved in a looting incident in Imus, Cavite in 2023 was arrested in Lucena, Quezon, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.

At a press briefing, PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said six more dismissed cops are still at large.

Fajardo identified the arrested ex-cop as Reymel Czar Reyes.

“So out of the eight na pinangalanan sa warrants of arrest, isa po ang naaresto doon ng [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] sa Lucena at kasalukuyan pong nakakulong. At ang isa po doon, nag-iisang babae ay nakapagbail na po. So anim na lang po yung hinahanap ngayon,” Fajardo said.

(So out of the eight named in the warrants of arrest, one was arrested there by the CIDG in Lucena and is currently in jail. And one of them, the only woman, has already bailed. So only six people are at large.)

The former cops allegedly looted the house of 67-year-old Rebecca Caoile, a former professor, in Barangay Alapan 1-A during a supposed buy-bust operation in August 2023.

A CCTV footage showed the cops carrying some items from the house including a tire and a motorcycle rim. Caoile's son said the cops also took his savings worth P80,000, his laptop, and tools.

The involved cops neither had a search warrant nor arrest warrant for the operation, according to the PNP.

Complaints for robbery and extortion were filed against the involved police officers. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News