MMDA enforcer nabbed for years-long extortion

MANILA, Philippines — A traffic enforcer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was arrested in a sting on Friday for allegedly extorting P10,000 a month from a trucking firm since 2019.

Rey Gaza, 53, a member of the MMDA’s Northern Traffic Enforcement Division-Traffic Reaction Unit, was arrested by personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the MMDA’s Intelligence and Investigation Office in Port Area, Manila.

He was placed under arrest after collecting P5,000 in marked money from a representative of the trucking firm, said MMDA general manager Procopio Lipana, who convinced the firm’s owner to file a complaint with the NCRPO.

The entrapment operation was caught on a surveillance video shared by the MMDA.

Gaza yielded a belt bag that contained a cell phone and a handgun.

The owner of the trucking firm, based in Manila North Harbor and Valenzuela City, alleged that Gaza and his accomplices collected monthly payoffs of up to P10,000 since 2019 “to avoid inconvenience and to ensure the smooth operation of his trucking and transport service business,” the MMDA said in a statement.