3 cops charged with robbery, extortion

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  – Three members of this city’s police office were charged with robbery and extortion on Wednesday for allegedly asking money from an inmate.

Police Officer 1 Nestor Madelo and Police Officers 3 Fritz Pigar and Rodney Domingo, all of the city police Station 2, were placed under investigation upon orders of Senior Superintendent Melchor Coronel, officer-in-charge of the Bacolod police.

Chief Inspector Dianne Catedral, public information officer of the city police, said inmate Deny Abindan was released from detention as his case was not endorsed or recorded in the logbook of the station.

Abindan was arrested for drugs on Sunday. His wife, Froebel, told Coronel that the three police officers asked for money purportedly for her husband’s release.

Froebel said the officers initially asked P10,000, but the amount was reduced to P8,500.

Madelo was arrested in an entrapment conducted by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

After Madelo’s arrest, Colonel summoned Pigar and Domingo, who denied the allegations against them.