‘Bishop’ faces possible raps for allegedly maligning Davao City

Policemen outside the hotel in Davao City where the alleged harassment against Mark Dimerin took place. Photo courtesy of San Pedro Police Station

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/14 October)  — The Davao City Police Office has said it will file a case against a hotel guest who allegedly used social media in “destroying” the city’s image and that of the DCPO as a whole,

DCPO spokesperson Capt. Hazel Tuazon said Mark Dimerin, of Zamboanga City, will also be charged with violations of Republic Act 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code, for claiming that “he is a police officer.”

“Miingon siya nga police siya… miingon siya nga usa siya ka (He said he’s police…he said he’s a) chief of police inspector ug chief of police, under usurpation of authority,” Tuazon said in a radio interview, Monday morning.

Dimerin, who introduced himself as a “bishop,” had claimed in a now deleted Facebook post that the San Pedro Police Station ignored him when he went there to file a blotter report after he was allegedly harassed Thursday (October 10) by two members of the LGBTQ community.

Along with his post was an image of an apparent blotter from the San Pedro Police Station.

He said in the same post that Davao is no longer a safe city.

Dimerin claimed that two members of the LGBTQ community tried to coerce him to pay them as they “had contacted [him] for a massage service.” He said he “refused to comply” and shouted for assistance from the hotel’s security guard.

In a statement released Sunday afternoon, DCPO said that based on their initial investigation, around 10:25 p.m., CCTV footage showed that Dimerin “voluntarily allowed” one of the LGBTQ individuals into his room at a hotel on Palma Gil Street.

“However, after approximately 1 minute and 54 seconds, both exited the room and proceeded to the hotel lobby, where a verbal altercation ensued. This altercation escalated into a physical confrontation initiated by the guest, who falsely claimed himself as a Chief of Police with the rank of Police Inspector,” the statement said.

It added there were “no signs of forced entry” and instead the CCTV footage showed the guest admit one of the two individuals into his room.

In his deleted Facebook post, Dimerin also said that during his visit to the police station, which is a four-minute ride from the hotel, he was only assisted by a police auxiliary who “did not seem to know the proper procedures.”

“I also asked the officer at the desk if they could patrol the area, but my request was ignored. Is this what we can expect from Davao’s Finest Police now?” he said.

In a separate statement on Friday evening, the San Pedro Police Station said Demerin only wanted to “have the incident documented and requested that our personnel visit the scene.”

“We would also like to clarify that the version of the blotter posted by the complainant is not the official extract,” the statement said. “Nevertheless, our patrollers were dispatched to the location of the incident, even though the complainant opted not to pursue legal action.”

As of Monday, Dimerin had deactivated his Facebook account. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)