Officials and employees of Sunjoy Tower in Binondo, Manila have called on the Philippine National Police and its Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to look into a raid by CIDG-National Capital Region operatives on the warehouse tower, which they said was done without a search warrant.
In a statement, the Sunjoy officers and staff said operatives of the CIDG-NCR, headed by Police Major Merben Bryan L. Lago, entered the tower on Wednesday to confiscate bulk stocks of Wawang Katol, which allegedly does not have a permit from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
While the Sunjoy staff did not question the seizure of the stocks of the mosquito coil brand, they said they were “terrified” by the behavior of the CIDG-NCR group, who were all fully armed yet could not present a search warrant.
They said that at around 1:45 p.m., the police operatives entered the building, accompanied by an informant who pointed out the whereabouts of the alleged illegal products.
The Sunjoy guards initially stopped the CIDG group from entering the building to find out what their purpose was. The operatives reportedly said they did not need to present a search warrant because it was a follow-up operation.
No shooting occurred during the raid, building staff said, although the Sunjoy guards said they initially thought other armed men had entered the tower.
“It is with high hopes that this is cleared from the ranks of the PNP, especially Maj. Gen. Albert Ferro who is the CIDG chief, and that this will come to the attention of PNP Chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos,” the Sunjoy statement said.
They also appealed to recently retired PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, who they said “is also angry at abusive policemen,” to look into the circumstances of the raid.