PNA file photo of Zhydee Cabañelez inside a hospital in Valencia City, Bukidnon.
DAVAO CITY – Police officers guarding the hospital where a teacher is confined after being shot inside her classroom, have decried the alleged harassment by a lawmaker of the party-list Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
Lt. Col. Surki Sereñas, chief of the Valencia City police, on Thursday alleged that ACT Rep. France Castro harassed the police security detail of public school teacher Zhaydee Cabañelez at a hospital in Valencia City.
Four armed men attacked Cabañelez and her husband, Ramil, with the pupils still inside her classroom at about 8 a.m. on October 15.
Ramil managed to escape but Zhaydee sustained multiple gunshot wounds and is now in stable condition.
Sereñas said Castro arrived at the hospital, along with some supporters, and insisted on entering the hospital room of Cabañelez.
However, the police official said they did not allow Castro to enter the room because Cabañelez had requested for privacy.
“She (Castro) claimed that she was being singled out. We explained to her the request of the patient, which she misinterpreted as though we (were) harassing her,” Sereñas told the Philippine News Agency.
He said even personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) and media were barred from entering the patient's room.
"We are just following the request of the patient and if there is an instruction coming from her allowing them to enter, we would gladly comply,” he said.
Sereñas said Castro fumed and started physically harassing him and his men, while hurling insults.
The lawmaker, he added, even demanded the removal of policemen from the hospital.
“She also threatened us, saying she will file a case against us. She also assaulted the police who took a video during the incident,” he added.
Police Brig. Gen. Rafael Santiago, Police Regional Office 10 (Northern Mindanao) director, defended Sereñas and his men, saying the policemen were only following security protocol.
"The police cannot be remiss on our sworn duty to serve and protect the people," Santiago said.
The ACT Party-list claimed that Ramil and Zhaydee Cabañelez were their members.
However, in a recent interview, Ramil denied their involvement in ACT.
Ramil clarified that he and his wife only attended an orientation organized by the left-leaning group in 2016.
“We were given a memorandum by the division office ordering us to attend the ACT orientation. I did not recall signing any membership form from ACT that time. We were only there to listen while they discussed matters that will be beneficial for the teachers,” he said. (PNA)
