Extort plaint filed against 3 airport policemen

Three airport policemen were accused of extortion for allegedly collecting money from taxi drivers in exchange for allowing them to pickup and drop off airport passengers.

Complainants Tisha “Inday Tikay” Ylaya, Marc Ian Almeres and Armenio Lopez escorted by radio dyAB station manager Leo Lastimosa met with Mactan Cebu Intenational Airport (MCIA) officials yesterday.

Ylaya, a dyAB radio anchor, said she saw how airport police asked taxi drivers for money for them to load and unload passengers.

Almeres, a taxi driver of Juscar Taxi, said he was threatened by the security guards and the airport policemen and they tried to beat him up when he refused to give them money. He escaped.

Duty manager of Lufthansa Airlines, Armenio Lopez, also alleged that airport policemen extorted money from the driver of the delivery truck of their supplier.

He said these airport policemen refused to let the delivery truck pass. The following day, an airport policeman asked for money from the driver. He threw a P20 bill and the airport policeman immediately picked it up.

The three airport policemen were later identified as Rene Conje, Rodolfo Maurin and Cliff Alesna.

MCIA general manager Nigel Paul Villarete, Police Chief Melvin Gayotin and other officials were present in the meeting.

Villarete said he appreciated the efforts of the complainants to raise their issues against airport policemen.

The administrative case filed by the group was accepted by the airport’s legal counsel and Villarete assured they would immediately look into it.

The complainants wish that the three airport police will be dismissed from work.

But Villarete clarified that not all airport policemen and security guards in MCIA are abusive.

Villarete said they accept complaints in any form, like in e-mail, text or phone calls even if the complainant refuses to be identified.

The case of the three policemen is among the matters that newly installed Airport Police Division Manager Melvin Gayotin has to handle.

Another case is the investigation on the shootout last month inside MCIAA involving three airport policemen. /Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol with Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza