FIVE policemen were found guilty of grave misconduct while another was exonerated by the National Police Commission Region 7 office. Named guilty in the administrative case and to suffer 60 days of suspension were P/Chief Inspector Daniel Sales of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, former chief of police of Inabanga town and PO3s Hermenigildo Abella, Pablito Panis and Roberto Vistal and PO2 Edwin Melicor all of the Inabanga Police Station. Exonerated from the same administrative case was SPO2 Desiderio Baldisco formerly of the Inabanga police but now assigned in Corella, Bohol .

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by Julius Suarez of Barangay Cogon, Inabanga. Suarez alleged in his affidavit that after dinner on June 26, 2001 at around 8:20 p.m. , he went to the waiting shed opposite his house to talk with one Reynaldo Bagoy who was already seated thereat. While carrying a conversation with Bagoy, Suarez claimed that Abella, Panis and Vistal appeared and invited him to go to the Inabanga Police Station where Sales was waiting. The three said Sales had a matter to agree upon with him.

Inside Sales' office, Suarez said he was bodily searched – that allegedly yielded one deck of shabu from his back pocket. Sales ordered Panis to detain him over his vehement protests. Meanwhile, Abella, Vistal and Melicor executed a joint affidavit dated June 27, 2001 making it appear that Suarez was arrested in a buy-bust operation as allegedly tipped off by Baldisco. Baldisco had reported that Suarez sold shabu the night before at around 8:45 p.m. along the national highway in Barangay Cogon with Vistal as poseur-buyer. After a judicious and impartial evaluation of the case however, the Commission found substantial evidence that no buy-bust operation was actually conducted to justify the arrest of the complainant.

“Evidences presented by the respondents are not sufficient to convince that indeed there was a buy-bust operation conducted against the complainant. Further, the testimonies of the respondents also reveal inconsistencies that defy logic and reason,” Napolcom 7 Officer in Charge Homer Mariano Cabral wrote. As such, he found Sales, Abella, Panis, Vistal and Melicor guilty but dropped the case against Baldisco for lack of basis.