A man was arrested for masquerading as a policeman when he was apprehended for a traffic violation in barangay Talamban, Cebu City.
Romeo Torres Jr., 33, a resident of barangay Mabini, Cebu City, was armed with an unlicensed .45 pistol when he was arrested around 8 a.m. yesterday, police said.
Torres is facing charges of illegal possession of a firearm and usurpation of authority.
Police said Torres was flagged down by personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) when he was spotted driving a motorcycle with a blinker.
Torres introduced himself as a policeman.
It so happened that a policeman, PO2 Rene Remedios was passing by.
LTO operatives sought help from Remedios, who is assigned to the Cebu City Public Safety Company (CCPSC) of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
The policeman asked Torres to show documents proving that he was a policeman and that his gun was licensed.
Torres failed to present any documents prompting Remedios to bring him to the police headquarters in Gorordo Avenue in Cebu City.
At the police station, Torres admitted that he was just a member of the Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN) in Consolacion town.
Torres admitted that his gun was unlicensed. He said he brought a gun since he was a collector of a company. He did not identify the company.
Torres said he needed the gun since he sometimes carries P500,000 in collection money.