Makati employee nabbed for extortion
MANILA, Philippines — A member of the Makati City government’s public safety department was arrested on Thursday after trying to extort at least P200,000 from the owners of two bars that the city government previously shut down.
Complainant John Dean Thorp told police that John Rey Villarino, 30, repeatedly demanded money from him and Shane Reid for the reopening of the Heineken Bar and Howzat Sports Bar, both in Barangay Poblacion.
The two bars were previously shut down by the city government for violating ordinances on curfew and COVID-19 health protocols.
Police staged an entrapment operation in which Thorp gave P10,000 marked money to Villarino in Howzat Bar. The suspect was arrested after accepting the marked money.
Villarino – who faces charges of robbery-extortion and resistance and disobedience to a person in authority – said he was at the bar only to have a drink.
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