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Two officers facing charges to keep work unless found guilty
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Posted on Oct 12 2004
Two police officers who have been charged with stealing government funds would remain at their current posts until found guilty by the court, according to DPS commissioner Edward Camacho.
The DPS chief cited lack of manpower, as well as recommendation from the officers’ supervisors, as basis for his decision to allow Police Officers Edward C. Maratita Jr. and Raymond Pangelinan to remain on active duty. He said, though, that the two would not be on the streets.
“They were either going to be put on indefinite suspension pending the court findings, or be put on administrative status duty and continue to perform administrative duty as dispatchers and admin support personnel,” he explained. “I can easily put them on suspension indefinitely pending the results of the courts, but their supervisors have already given me confidence that they are going to need them where they are right now, and I listen to that.”
He said that when 27 DPS personnel left for training for deployment to Iraq, it left a “big hole in the operation of the department.”
Camacho said the two are currently active in the “administrative side” of the department, but explained that if convicted, the two would not hold their current positions.
“I’m dealing with lack of personnel. What am I going to do with the folks that have not been actually found guilty yet? [But] once found guilty and they’re convicted, they’re no longer going to be part of this department,” he stressed.
Maratita and Pangelinan were charged with stealing government funds after allegedly filing for overtime, but not actually working during the filed hours.
