MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga – A police officer and four members of the local traffic management office were arrested for alleged extortion in Apalit town in Pampanga province on Friday, a police report said Saturday.
Operatives of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group-Luzon Field Unit (IMEG-LFU) arrested Police Corporal Leomar Calegan, 37; Marlon De Guzman, 39; Menard Mendoza, 32; Michael Maniulit, 50; and Noel Manarang, 23. Calegan’s companions were members of Apalit’s Truck Ban Traffic Management Office.
The five were arrested after an undercover operative of the IMEG-LFU boarded a cargo truck and pretended to be a member of a truck crew. Upon reaching the San Simon North Luzon Expressway access road-MacArthur Highway intersection where the suspects were flagging down trucks, the operative handed over two pieces of marked P500 bills to the group. The suspects were then immediately placed under arrest.
Operatives confiscated P804,170 from the suspects, believed to be the group’s “collection” from truck drivers who passed through the “checkpoint” that day.
Operatives also confiscated Calegan’s police identification card and his Glock 17 service firearm.
The five men were brought to the IMEG-LFU office for documentation and detention.
They are now facing charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standard of Public Officers and Employees.