Child abuse suspect arrested after warrant posted on Facebook

Criminals, be very wary. You’re “wanted on Facebook.” 
 
Through a copy of a warrant of arrest sent via the social networking app Facebook, Isabela province’s top 10 most wanted suspect was arrested in Sta. Ana Manila on Friday. 
 
Around 9:30 a.m., Manila Police District Police-Station 9 operatives led by Chief Inspector Paulito Sabulao, the PCP commander, caught Jenny Pretta, top 10 most wanted of Mallig police station in Isabela through a private communication by policemen on Facebook. 
 
According to Insp. Fernildo de Castro, chief of the investigating unit of the Malate Police Station, the operatives of the Mallig, Isabela, police station sent the warrant of arrest via a private message to their official Facebook account “Arellano PCP MPD” after receiving reports that Pretta had been hiding in a rented apartment on Onyx St. in Sta. Ana, Manila. 
 
Pretta was arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Bernabe Mendoza of Branch 23 of Roxas, Isabela Regional Trial Court for charges of child abuse filed in 2014. 
 
She will be turned over to Isabela for proper disposition on Saturday. 
 
De Castro said the required Facebook account for every police station proved to be helpful in speeding up transactions and verifying the identity of suspects. 
 
In Isabela and other far-flung areas, Facebook has proven to be more reliable and faster than communication via radio or telephone, he said. 
 
“Also, people can post warrants of arrests, photos of wanted or suspected suspect, on our Facebook page, which we can immediately verify. Facebook really helps in intensifying our police-community relationships and anti-criminality measures,” De Castro said boasting of two other suspects arrested through Facebook. 
 
The Arellano PCP MPD facebook page,  which has Robin Padilla in a police uniform as profile picture, has 2,410 friends and being followed by 158 people who get free updates and announcements of arrests directly from the police.