Traffic aide arrested for extort try on cop

This traffic aide could not simply walk away from an extortion charge usually thrown at some policemen on road duty.

Rodolfo Magadia, a traffic management officer in Pasay City, found himself in deep trouble after flagging down a gray Honda City car driven by a policeman in plainclothes on Monday night for a swerving infraction.

Magadia, 48, stopped SPO1 Javier Bibail when he turned right to Tramo Street from Andrews Avenue at around 9 p.m. Bibail, who was working undercover with the special operation unit of the Pasay police to entrap Magadia, said the traffic enforcer asked for his driver’s license and P500 in exchange for it.

But before Bibail could give the amount and alert other police officers near the area, Magadia’s traffic companion approached the vehicle and immediately recognized the lawman.

“Pulis natin ’yan (He’s one of our policemen),” Bibail quoted Magadia’s colleague, who was not identified, as telling him.

Thereupon, Magadia handed back Bibail’s license and was quoted as saying, “Sir, pulis pala kayo. Sige po, di bale na lang. Ito na po ang lisensya niyo (Sir, I didn’t know you are a policeman. Just forget about the incident. Here’s your license).”

At that instant, members of the special operation unit came and arrested Magadia. A complaint of robbery (extortion) will be filed against him in the city prosecutor’s office.

The entrapment came after the police received complaints from motorists that traffic enforcers were extorting money in exchange for traffic citation tickets along Airport Road, Andrews Avenue and Tramo Street.

Magadia, according to Pasay traffic administrator Elena Chua, has been volunteering for the traffic unit for more than five years and receives a monthly allowance for his services.

Traffic aides who are apprehended for extortion are automatically relieved from their posts, Chua said.