ANGELES CITY – The owner of a karaoke pub and his employees have asked the city council here to suspend Barangay Balibago Chairman Rodelio “Tony” Mamac and his councilman pending the resolution of a criminal case they filed against the village officials over a raid of their pub last Aug. 2.
Complainants Carlo Manalastas, owner of Tol’s Masaki Karaoke Pub, and his managers Frederico Gregorious and Ruth Cruz had filed charges of unlawful arrest, arbitrary detention, grave threat and abuse of authority against Mamac and councilman Abel Reyes arising from a raid of their pub last Aug. 2.
Mamac, however, said that Gregorious and Cruz are also now facing criminal charges for allegedly attempting to flee from authorities and disobeying lawful orders during the purported raid.
In a letter to the city council, the complainants sought the preventive suspension of Mamac and Reyes to protect their witnesses and evidences from the influence of the barangay officials.
The case started on the night of Aug. 2 when Reyes and his companions went to the pub and allegedly threatened to arrest pub workers for lacking “barangay worker’s permit.”
Gregorious claimed he later went to the barangay hall to appeal to Mamac to allow the pub management to settle dues later, but Mamac instead ordered the raid of the pub and the arrest of all 15 pub workers.
He said Mamac demanded P1,000 fee per worker for a total of P15,000.
Gregorio said Mamac later released the workers except him and Cruz whom he allegedly refused to set free despite the intervention of their lawyer.
Early on Aug. 3, the complainants were turned over to police station 4 where a report accused them of resisting arrest and disobedience to persons in authority.
They were held at the station until their inquest later in the same day before the Office of the City Prosecutor.
Mamac claimed in his report to the police that Gregorious and Cruz had tried to flee when they were asked to report to the barangay hall.
Gregorious and Cruz, in their complaint, described Mamac’s claim as “a blatant lie.”
Meanwhile, the city council here is set to hold an en banc session on Tuesday (Sept. 13) at the session hall.
