QC police station chief, anti-drugs head relieved over rob-extort case

Photo taken from qcpdpnp.com

MANILA — Following the relief of five cops from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 2 in Masambong who were linked to robbery extortion, the station’s commander and head of the anti-illegal drugs unit were also relieved from their duties on Wednesday.

Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, the QCPD chief, made the announcement to relieve Supt. Dario Tugade Anasco, the Masambong Police Station chief, and Chief Insp. Virgilio Carodan, head of the Station Anti-Illegal Drugs, during a press conference at the district’s headquarters in Camp Karingal.

Eleazar said the two were relieved on the basis of “command responsibility” in the robbery extortion case filed against five policemen of Station 2.

“They should have known that there was such an incident in their station,” Eleazar added.

The QCPD earlier relieved five policemen — — for allegedly conspiring to extort money from the family of an arrested drug suspect in exchange for his freedom.

They were all charged with robbery extortion, relieved from their current duties and transferred to the District Headquarters Support Unit (DHSU) located at the QCPD headquarters in Camp Karingal.

In an entrapment operation last Saturday by the District Special Operations Unit (DSOU), Gragasin was arrested just outside the Masambong Police Station after he received money from Josephine Pineda, the live-in partner of arrested drug suspect Zaldy Roda. Pineda reported to the authorities that Gragasin asked her for P500,000 in exchange for Roda’s freedom.

Pineda claimed that Gragasin asked for a hefty amount to drop the charges against Roda and added that part of the money would be given to the prosecutor while the rest would be shared by the arresting officers.

According to Eleazar, Anasco and Carodan were new in their posts, with the station commander assuming responsibility in February this year and Carodan becoming SAID chief just last month.

Anasco will be replaced by Supt. Igmedio Bernaldez, a former assistant chief of the Public Safety Division – Directorate for Operations, National Headquarters.

“We assure Quezon City residents that we will not stop cleansing our ranks to improve the quality of service of the police in Quezon City. This is a definite clear step in this direction in our war against illegal drugs and criminality,” Eleazar added.  SFM