By Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – Two criminal complaints accusing Marikina 1st District Rep. Marcelino Teodoro of committing acts of lasciviousness and sexual assault have been filed with the National Prosecution Service (NPS), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday.
“The complainants are both female police officers who had been assigned as the respondent’s close-in security at different times,” DOJ spokesperson Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said in a statement.
Clavano said in line with Department Circular No. 20 (2023), the complaints will undergo case build-up and legal evaluation to determine the sufficiency of evidence before any preliminary investigation.
“This ensures that any action, if warranted, will rest on a complete and substantiated record,” he said, even as he assured Teodoro that he “will be afforded full due process.”
Clavano did not identify the complainants for privacy and security reasons.
The Marikina City Police Office said the two complainants have been reassigned to the Philippine National Police national headquarters at Camp Crame for their safety.
“The Marikina City Police fully respects due process and upholds the rule of law,” Marikina Police chief Col. Michael Astrera said in a separate statement.
Teodoro, meanwhile, denied the accusations, calling them baseless and politically motivated.
“Ang mga akusasyon sa akin ay malisyoso at hindi totoo. Ang kanilang mga alegasyon ay walang sapat na basehan at gawa-gawa lamang na ang intensyon ay sirain ang aking reputasyon (The accusations against me are malicious and false. Their allegations have no basis and are just meant to ruin my reputation),” he said.
“Mukhang politically motivated attack laban sa akin. May mga trumatrabahong pwersa (It seems like it’s a politically motivated attack against me. Some forces are working on it),” he added.
The former Marikina mayor said he has yet to receive a copy of the complaints.
For its part, the Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it is already in touch with the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) over the matter.
“On this case, we are still conducting an investigation. The WCPC is currently coordinating doon sa CIDG which handled this case,” WCPC spokesperson Major Shari Vanneza Deseo told reporters at Camp Crame, also on Thursday.
“Kung wala pa pong whatever action na ginawa nila, kung wala pa pong naisasampa na case, (If they haven’t taken any action yet, if they haven’t filed a case yet), we can file a case about that,” she added. (with report from Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
