6 Taytay ‘kotong’ cops ordered relieved, charged

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MANILA, Philippines—The chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday ordered the relief and filing of administrative charges against six Taytay, Rizal, policemen for their alleged involvement in bribery-extortion.

They were identified as Chief Inspector Ruel Lacanienta, chief of the Tikling police traffic sector; Police Officers 2 Harold Orfanel and Rommel Reodique; and Police Officers 1 Ron Miranda, Daniel Igtiven, Reylan Gumapad and Cergie Gonzales.

Secretary Jesse Robredo said in a statement that the erring cops would be transferred outside of their jurisdiction, Region 4A.

The order was made based on the recommendation of Senior Superintendent Francisco Peñaflor, senior police assistant to the DILG chief, who sent a team from the Philippine National Police Office of Internal Security to investigate and document the mulcting activities of the involved Taytay police traffic enforcers in Tikling, a busy crossroad going to Antipolo City and Binangonan,  Rizal.

It was discovered that apart from the monthly P8,000 “protection money” that the local drivers’ associations were being made to pay to the Taytay “kotong” (mulcting) cops, they also allegedly required all jeepney and taxi drivers to pay P10 each whenever they passed by the Tikling area.

The DILG said that the P10 payment was collected by police-hired “barkers” who reportedly remitted the collection to the Taytay police traffic sector office every day.

Robredo earlier ordered the sacking and filing of charges against nine traffic policemen from Quezon City and one from Capas, Tarlac, who allegedly extorted money from his nephew and daughter on separate occasions.

The first incident, he said, happened on April 27 during which Quezon City Police District mobile patrol policemen on board two patrol cars extorted P1,400 from his nephew in front of the Cloverleaf Market in Balintawak, Quezon City.

In another police extortion incident, Robredo’s daughter, who was one of the Bicol Region delegates to the Palarong Pambansa (National Athletic Meet) in Pangasinan, was on board a van on April 29 and joining the convoy of 15 Pangasinan-bound buses when they were flagged down by a group of police traffic officers led by one Senior Police Officers 3 Elmo B. Ngangac at about 8:30 a.m. along Manila North Road, Barangay Poblacion, Capas, Tarlac.

“I am aghast to learn that despite our nationwide campaign against kotong cops, these police officers have failed to mend their ways, mulcting and extorting money from public utility drivers and other motorists for concocted traffic violations,” the DILG chief said.