Bacoor police deny ‘dinosaur ash’ remark against fur parents

MANILA — The Bacoor City Police on Tuesday denied allegations that one of its officers made a joke about a pet owner wanting to identify whether the ashes he brought to the station came from a cat or a dinosaur.

CCTV footage provided by the police showed fur parents flocking to the station around 1 p.m. on November 1, following reports that animal remains intended for cremation at a pet crematorium in Bacoor had allegedly been dumped in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

The footage showed police personnel distributing incident report forms to fur parents who wanted to formally report their complaints. The station was also attending to rescued animals at the time.

A man was also seen bringing ashes in a plastic bag and asking authorities to help determine whether they belonged to his pet.

However, the CCTV footage had no audio.

A fur parent who later filed a complaint with the National Police Commission (Napolcom) claimed that an officer had asked whether one of the complainants wanted to know if the ashes came from a cat or a dinosaur.

The complainant admitted that she was not the person directly addressed by the officer but had overheard the alleged remark.

“And this parent just quietly went to her seat. And I was just standing, staring at their faces,” she said.

Asked how she felt at the time, she said: “I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t ask to them how to fill the incident report. I just read it on my own. I didn’t ask anyone.”

The officer accused of making the remark denied the allegation.

“Eh ‘di nalungkot. Kasi kami na nga ang unang ano eh… ako ang chief investigation kaya ako ang unang tinawagan noong manggari ang insidente,” he said.

Bacoor City Police chief Lt. Col. Alexie Desamito said the CCTV footage also showed no police personnel laughing during the interaction.

“Ang hirap kasi mangmalas ng tauhan mo na hindi mo naman alam ang katotohanan,” she said.

“Just because kami ay public servant, sana huwag nilang gawing excuse iyon na sitahin kami nang sitahin. To the extent na maling issues na and damaging na ‘yong nilalabas sa amin,” Desamito added.

In affidavits submitted by some fur parents who were at the station, they also said they did not hear anyone make a joke about dinosaur ashes.

Desamito said the complainant may have misheard the conversation, noting that she was far from the police officers and fur parents who were talking.

“Malayo po kasi si complainant doon sa mga nag-uusap nating pulis at fur parent, posibleng mali ‘yong dinig,” she said.

Bacoor police said they had already submitted their response to Napolcom after receiving a letter from the commission on Monday, including a progress report on the investigation and supporting evidence.

“Nirerespeto po natin ’yon, sir. Sa amin po, naka-ready naman po kami kung sakali pong ipatawag kami para magbigay-linaw po sa totoong nangyari,” Desamito said.