PNP probes 1,122 personnel for extortion, drugs

MANILA, Philippines - A total of 1,122 officers and personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) are under investigation for alleged involvement in extortion and other illegal activities, a PNP official said yesterday.

PNP Counter Intelligence Task Force (CITF) chief Senior Supt. Jose Chiquito Malayo said they were investigating 249 police officers and 873 non-commissioned officers.

Malayo said 385 of them were assigned with police units under the National Capital Region Police Office.

The other regions with the most number of policemen allegedly involved in irregularities are Calabarzon with 147 and Central Luzon with 141.

According to Malayo, 641 police officers were identified by informants through text hotlines as alleged protectors of drug rings.

“A majority of the policemen were tagged in extortion and illegal drugs,” he said.

The other policemen were involved in illegal logging, illegal gambling, hulidap, smuggling, kidnapping, gunrunning, unexplained wealth and other anomalous activities.

The CITF has arrested 41 police officers and 15 civilians since January, Malayo said.

The CITF was formed as part of the PNP’s measures to weed out scalawags within the police force.

What corpses?

Meanwhile, the PNP took exception to a report by Al Jazeera that corpses of drug suspects were dumped by fishermen in Manila Bay.?It challenged the news network to support its article with evidence.?PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos said Al Jazeera should come up with strong evidence to back up its allegations.

“I will ask Al Jazeera, who is the fisherman? Who is your source? How many bodies have you fished out of Manila Bay?” Carlos said in a television interview over ANC.?He criticized Al Jazeera for coming out with a baseless article.