Slippers give fake cop away

A Muntinlupa City businessman was charged with usurpation of authority and illegal use of the police uniform following his arrest on Saturday night on National Road at Barangay Tunasan.

Ephraim Agbuya, 40, caught the attention of Muntinlupa police officers after he was spotted leaving a drugstore dressed in a “hybrid” Philippine National Police (PNP) uniform: a PNP ball cap, a light blue shirt and a black jacket — both with the word “Pulis” — and a pair of slippers.

Unlike most suspects arrested for usurpation of authority, however, Agbuya was not engaged in any extortion scheme.

Frustrated dream

“He just has a penchant [for using] police uniforms…,” Senior Supt. Dionisio Bartolome, Muntinlupa police chief, told the Inquirer, adding: “I think it’s not to project authority, it’s more of a frustrated dream.”

Based on an incident report, the police officers approached Agbuya outside the drugstore. When they asked for his PNP identification card, Agbuya admitted he was not a policeman.

Bartolome told the Inquirer that Agbuya had also been arrested in Manila, also for his unauthorized use of the PNP uniform.

“He wasn’t wearing it correctly which is strictly prohibited in the PNP,” he said.