NCRPO director Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde (left) and QCPD chief Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar announce the arrest of Quezon City policemen PO1 Edgar Allan Co and PO1 Ronald Clarin for extortion. KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ
TWO ROOKIE Quezon City policemen were arrested by their colleagues on Monday after they were caught at the back of their police station receiving P10,000 from the family of a drug suspect they had earlier taken into custody.
A report from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) headquarters said that the two lawmen—PO1 Ronald Clarin and PO1 Edgar Allan Co of the QCPD Station 6 in Batasan—were caught in an entrapment operation.
Earlier, the family of the drug suspect who was not identified went to newly installed Batasan police station commander Supt. Lito Patay to file an extortion complaint against Clarin and Co.
They claimed that last Saturday, they gave P5,000 to the two policemen’s cohort, PO3 Angelito Resureccion, who has since stopped reporting for work.
According to the complainants, the policemen asked them for P15,000 in exchange for dropping the case against the drug suspect whom they earlier arrested.
National Capital Region Police Office director Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, who was at the QCPD headquarters on Monday, said that the arrest of Clarin and Co was “in consonance with the directive of the President to cleanse our ranks.”
“We do not tolerate extortion among our men and we are serious [about] our internal cleansing efforts,” Albayalde added as he stressed that those found involved in illegal activities would be sanctioned.
According to Albayalde, the two policemen would be charged with robbery-extortion on top of an administrative case for grave misconduct and serious irregularity in the performance of duty. If found guilty, they face two to seven years in prison and dismissal from the service.