Search on for 2 Caloocan rookie cops accused of extortion

PO1 Emerson Santillan

Caloocan City policemen have started looking for two of their colleagues who went Awol (absent without official leave) after they were accused of extorting money from an arrested drug suspect.

The extort try comes on the heels of a survey released this month by the National Police Commission in which the city police force was adjudged “most trusted” among the 17 police stations in Metro Manila.

Police Officers 1 Emerson Santillan and John Paul Bautista, both members of the Police Community Precinct (PCP) 5, have not reported for work since Feb. 21, according to their superior, PCP 5 commander, Chief Insp. Narciso Cajipe Jr.

The two, along with a third suspect identified as Christian Fernandez, were the targets of an entrapment operation set on Feb. 24 by the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) antiscalawag unit, the Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF), after they allegedly tried to extort P300,000 from Joel Manansala, Cajipe said.

Based on a PNP-CITF report, Manansala was arrested by Santillan and Bautista on Feb. 20 after he was caught using drugs at his house in Barangay 177.

The two policemen then demanded P300,000 from Manansala if he wanted to avoid charges, the report said. The extort try was allegedly negotiated by Fernandez, whom Cajipe confirmed was a civilian informant.

Fernandez, however, failed to show up at PCP 5 on Feb. 24 where he was supposed to receive a P10,000 downpayment from Manansala’s live-in partner, the CITF report added.

Senior Supt. Jemar Modequillo, Caloocan police chief, said the two policemen could face charges of arbitrary detention and attempted extortion if found guilty.

So far, they have no information on whether Bautista and Santillan had previous records of misdemeanor, he added.