MANILA — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) brought alias “Totoy” to the Makati Police Station to identify areas where he was allegedly tortured by two police officers following his arrest for an alleged theft.
Totoy is the driver of actress Rhian Ramos and the complainant who filed charges against Ramos and beauty queens Michelle Dee and Sam Panlilio over an alleged assault inside a condominium in Makati.
READ: NBI reviewing CCTV, flight docs in alleged mauling case vs Michelle Dee, Rhian Ramos
According to Totoy, he was arrested by Makati police after he failed to escape from the condominium unit where he claimed to have been detained and tortured for three days. This allegedly happened after Dee accused him of theft and physical assault.
Totoy further alleged that even inside the Makati Police Station, two police officers continued to hurt him in an attempt to force him to admit to the theft.
During the walkthrough, Totoy pointed to one of the rooms inside the police station where he claimed he was struck on the head with a baton and had his fingers stepped on.
“This is where I was brought. This is where I was seated, and this is where the one who kicked us was,” Totoy said.
The NBI said it is still validating Totoy’s complaints, as well as the qualified theft case filed against him, which had earlier been dismissed by the prosecutor’s office during inquest proceedings.
“We just want to know what really happened during the time that he was detained at the PNP,” said NBI spokesperson Palmer Mallari.
READ: Driver stands by assault claim vs. Rhian Ramos, Michelle Dee
As part of the verification, Totoy also checked whether the two police officers he accused of torturing him were still inside the station, but they were not found in the rooms he identified.
The Makati Police earlier said they are willing to cooperate with the NBI investigation.
After the police station walkthrough, the NBI also conducted verification at Barangay Urdaneta regarding the blotter filed by Dee. The agency is also hoping to obtain CCTV footage from the condominium as additional evidence to help clarify the case.
Earlier, the camps of Dee, Ramos, and Panlilio denied the allegations made by the driver.