Two of the 11 Malabon policemen tagged in the kidnap-for-ransom complaint—P03 Bernardino Pacoma and SPO3 Jerry dela Torre—are presented in Camp Crame on Saturday. —Lyn Rillon
All eleven Malabon City policemen accused of kidnapping the girlfriend of a New Bilibid Prison inmate for ransom last week are now in custody, after the surrender of the last seven officers.
In a statement, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said PO3 Michael Angelo Solomon, PO3 Luis Hizon Jr., PO2 Michael Huerto, PO1 Jovito Roque Jr., and PO1 Ricky Lamsen turned themselves in on Friday night, while PO3 Benandino C. Pacoma, SPO2 Jerry dela Torre yielded on Saturday morning.
The officers surrendered after President Duterte on Tuesday ordered their capture “dead or alive” while offering a P14 million reward for their arrest.
The first five surrenderers came all the way from Palawan province, after the father of one of the policemen convinced the group to give themselves up, according to Deputy Director General Ramon Apolinario, PNP deputy chief for administration.
Four other Malabon policemen from the drug enforcement unit—SPO2 Ricky Pelicano, PO2 Wilson Sanchez, PO1 Joselito Ereneo, and PO1 Frances Camua—were arrested on Monday.
The complainant, Norma DG Adrales, was allegedly abducted by the group in Quezon City on May 20 after she visited her boyfriend Raymond Bongabon, a drug convict serving time at the NBP. She claimed that they commandeered her van and also took her jewelry, gadgets and cash.
The officers allegedly demanded P8 million from Adrales’ and Bongabon’s family, and also ordered her to transact with a Chinese national for the purchase of 1 kilo of “shabu.”
With the ransom still unpaid a day after the abduction, the officers filed drug charges against Adrales for the shabu they ordered her to procure.
Her relatives alerted the Northern Police District about the officers, prompting the creation of a team tasked to place them under arrest.