Pampanga town cop chief held for extortion

MANILA, Philippines — The police chief of Sasmuan, Pampanga was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly extorting money from an operator of an amusement park.

Chief Inspector Romeo Bulanadi, 51, was nabbed in an entrapment by operatives of the Philippine National Police-Counter-Intelligence Task Force (PNP-CITF) at a police station in Barangay Sta. Lucia.

Bulanadi was charged with robbery and extortion as well as violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees before the  Department of Justice yesterday.

Chief Inspector Jewel Nicanor, PNP-CITF spokesman, said they received a complaint that Bulanadi demanded P30,000 from the operator of the amusement park, whom he did not identify.

“We are investigating if Bulanadi was involved in this activity in the past,” Nicanor said in a text message.

Chief Superintendent Amador Corpus lauded the CITF for its operation even as he urged the public to report police officers who are involved in illegal activities.

Six police officers manning a checkpoint in Barangay Digdig, Caranglan, Nueva Ecija were relieved from their posts following their arrest, also on Tuesday, for allegedly asking money from motorists, particularly merchants.