At least 22 police officers have been placed under restrictive custody following allegations that they assaulted newly assigned policemen during supposed “welcome rites” in Lamitan City, Basilan, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday, as reported by RH Edniel Parrosa.
UPDATE: 22 pulis na ang inilagay sa restrictive custody makaraang akusahan ng pananakit sa welcome rites ng higit 100 bagito sa Lamitan, Basilan.
— Edniel Parrosa (@ednielparrosa) February 10, 2026
Ayon kay PNP spox PBGen Randulf Tuaño, posibleng gumamit ang mga suspek ng hazing paraphernalia gaya ng baseball bat. @dzrhnews pic.twitter.com/GDAoxzNeWh
PNP spokesperson PBGen. Randulf Tuaño said the officers are under investigation for their alleged involvement in violent initiation rites that reportedly affected more than 100 rookie policemen from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-14B (RMFB-14B).
According to Tuaño, initial findings indicate that hazing paraphernalia may have been used during the incident, including hard objects such as baseball bats and wooden sticks.
The alleged abuse came to light after videos circulated on social media showing uniformed policemen kneeling with their hands behind their backs while being struck by plainclothes officers. Other clips showed recruits being flicked on the ear, punched in the stomach, and later displaying visible bruises and injuries.
Initially, 18 newly assigned policemen filed complaints over the abuse, but the number of complainants later rose to more than 100. The recruits had just completed their Basic Internal Security Operations (BISOC) training at the time of the incident.
The PNP said hazing is strictly prohibited in all trainings, orientations, and welcome rites. Following the allegations, the entire RMFB-14B was placed under administrative relief, with personnel from RMFB-14A temporarily deployed to maintain police operations.
