7 Manila cops tagged in extortion face ax

MANILA, Philippines — Seven Manila policemen who allegedly extorted P50,000 from the families of eight suspects whom they arrested on human trafficking charges will be dismissed from the police service, an official said yesterday.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Superintendent Guillermo Eleazar said he would speed up the dismissal proceedings against the police officers to serve as a warning to others.

“As I said earlier, I would not hesitate to dismiss policemen involved in wrongdoing. We would not tolerate their illegal activities as we continue the cleansing program initiated by PNP (Philippine National Police) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde,” Eleazar said.

Chief Inspector Joselito de Ocampo, head of the Manila Police District (MPD) Special Operating Unit, will undergo summary dismissal proceedings along with his men – Police Officers 1 Erdie Bautista, MJ Cerilla, Arcadio Orbis and Martinico Mario, and PO3s Michael Chavez and Dindo Encina.

Bautista and Cerilla were arrested by agents of the PNP Counter Intelligence Task Force (CITF) during an entrapment operation at the MPD headquarters on Friday. De Ocampo was included in the complaint for command responsibility.

“I don’t know why these policemen continue to resort to extortion and other rackets despite the fact that President Duterte doubled the salaries of PNP members,” Eleazar said.

Investigation showed that the policemen arrested eight persons on charges of human trafficking during a raid in Sta. Mesa on July 18.

MPD director Chief Superintendent Rolando Anduyan said the policemen allegedly demanded P100,000 from Racquel Lacsamana for the release of her husband and the other suspects.

The amount was lowered to P50,000 after negotiations, Anduyan said.

CITF chief Senior Superintendent Romeo Caramat Jr. set an entrapment operation, which resulted in the arrest of Bautista and Cerilla.

A helper, Ricky Sayson, who received the marked money was also taken into police custody.

Bautista, Cerilla and Sayson are in the custody of the CITF at Camp Crame in Quezon City. De Ocampo and the four other policemen were reassigned to the NCRPO  Regional Headquarters Security Group.

Eleazar said the PNP Internal Affairs Service would conduct the dismissal proceedings against Bautista and Cerilla. The rest would be tried by the NCRPO Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division.

Aside from the administrative complaint, charges of kidnapping, robbery and extortion were filed against the police officers before the Manila prosecutor’s office.