SPO4 Jose dela Peña MARIANNE BERMUDEZ PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Due to the recent string of extortion incidents involving cops, the Philippine National Police (PNP) renewed their appeal to the public to immediately report abusive police officers.
“We will never tolerate police officers who are straying from the right path. People should report [these incidents] just like what happened in the Manila Police District (MPD),” Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., PNP Spokesman, told reporters in a briefing Tuesday.
Eleven policemen, including the chief of police of MPD Station four Chief Superintendent Rolando Balasbas, were accused Monday of extorting P1 million from a Fil-Canadian in Zambales.
Rivera Placido, 53, came to Manila mayor Alfredo Lim and told him that the police officers asked for P1 million in exchange for the dropping of frustrated murder charges against her. She was being charged as the mastermind behind the stabbing incident of the daughter of her boyfriend enior Police Officer 3 Sonny Nosidal of the Police Security Protection Group.
The 11 have been relieved of duty because of the incident.
“Lets look at the bright side, at least they are being exposed. We continue to call to the public that if they see or are victimized by the abusive policemen they should immediately report it. They will see that we are quick to respond [to their reports],” Cerbo said.
Another policeman, SPO1 Edgar Mejia, 39, was apprehended in Marikina early Monday after he took P18,000 from Don Ancheta, a member of the US Navy, and attempted to plant illegal drugs on him.
Just last week, SPO4 Jose Dela Pena made the news after he reportedly tried to extort P20,000 from the son of Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina,
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief.
Dela Pena had been involved in several extortion incidents prior to the latest involving Espina’s son.
When asked why the extortion incidents appear to be unrelenting despite the many measures taken to solve the problem, Cerbo said they are also wondering why it was so.
“The salary of policemen is substantial, decent. The lowest ranking personnel, PO1, are paid 16 to 18 thousand pesos. Almost 20 thousand including other allowances,” Cerbo said.
“It also increases the longer they are in service. There are also many allowances like meal allowances and clothing allowances. The salary of police cannot be discounted that’s why we are also wondering why [the extortion incidents continue],” Cerbo said.
Cerbo added that “a great majority of the 148,000 police are good.” He hoped that the programs of the PNP would not be derailed because of the acts of the few.
“If we are very firm we will be able to sustain the campaign against scalawags in uniform. In the end we can see a better PNP force,” Cerbo said.
“These [incidents and dismissals] should also serve as a lesson to all the other police officers,” he said.