Police informants get P2.4M cash rewards

PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome: Cash rewards for informants

MANILA, Philippines—For helping put criminals behind bars, 17 informants of the Philippine National Police have been rewarded thousands of pesos each in cash, officials said Tuesday.

PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome said that up to P2.4 million was to be divided among the tipsters, who gave the police valuable information on the whereabouts of fugitives, including a recently arrested suspect in the 2009 massacre of 57 persons in Maguindanao.

“If you remember, one of the 10-point program of actions that I initiated when I assumed as PNP chief is the accounting of wanted persons for the simple reason that every wanted person that is taken out of the streets can provide the community and our people better sleep,” Bartolome told reporters.

“That’s the reason why I have included this in the 10-point program of action where every unit should endeavor to account for wanted persons in their areas of jurisdiction, especially the top most wanted persons with monetary reward,” Bartolome added.

The cash reward for the informants ranges from as low as P90,000 to as  high as P300,000.

Among them was one whose information led police to arrest Sahid Guiamadel, alias Jun Aliman, a suspect in the massacre of 57 persons, including more than 30 journalists, in Maguindanao in November 2009.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Bartolome commended various PNP units, including regional and provincial offices, the Intelligence Group and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for their operations against wanted criminals.