Cop in ‘palit-puri’ scheme charged

The Manila policeman accused of forcing a 15-year-old girl to have sex with him, allegedly in exchange for the freedom of her parents who had been arrested on drug charges, could be dismissed from the service after the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) filed a grave misconduct case against him on Monday.

PO1 Eduardo Valencia of the Sampaloc police station will also face a criminal charge of rape under Republic Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.

Underhanded tactics

The details of the alleged rape and clear abuse of power immediately touched off a larger discussion about the internal culture of the Philippine National Police and underhanded tactics used by other rogue policemen in the government’s war on drugs.

Public criticism of the incident was further fueled by a
viral clip of Valencia defending himself by telling NCRPO chief, Director Guillermo Eleazar, that what happened was nothing new, widely interpreted as an admission that the “palit-puri” scheme (in street lingo, it means sexual favors from a suspect or their relative in exchange for the dropping of charges) had become normal within the PNP.

But Eleazar said in an interview on Monday that Valencia was referring to suspects who routinely file countercharges against policemen who arrest them.

He also insisted that the palit-puri scheme was “not rampant” in the PNP.

“He denied the rape, but there’s no way out for him
because he really did it,” said the NCRPO chief who pointed to a mountain of proof against Valencia, including medicolegal tests which showed that the girl had indeed been raped.

Mother’s revelation

The minor’s mother had reported the rape to the police,
alleging that Valencia brought her daughter to a motel in Manila on Oct. 26.

According to Eleazar, Valencia arrested the girl’s parents earlier in the day on drug charges. The young girl and her aunt were also brought in although there was no case against them.

Eleazar said that while the family were at the Sampaloc police station, Valencia talked to the girl “while holding a gun.”

“He threatened her and insinuated that she should have sex with him if she wants him to drop the case [against her mother],” the NCRPO chief added.

As the case against the couple was being readied, Valencia left with the girl and her aunt, saying he would bring them home. But after dropping off the aunt, he took the girl to a motel.

According to Eleazar, other children and families who had been victimized in the same way should feel free to speak out as the victim’s mother did, despite being a drug suspect.

Zero tolerance

“We will not tolerate [actions like Valencia’s],” he said, adding: “I want this to be a warning to scalawag police. We are saving future victims.

Valencia, who joined the PNP in 2014, is currently detained in his police station, while the 15-year-old girl is under the custody of the social welfare department. —With a report from Aie Balagtas See