PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief, General Debold M. Sinas, yesterday assured the country that their war on rogues in uniform is continuing without let-up as part of their no-nonsense internal cleansing program as he ordered the conduct of summary dismissal proceedings on 16 erring policemen accused of drug-related irregularities in the countryside.
“We’re hitting hard on misfits and scalawags in the organization specifically those directly or indirectly involved in illegal drug and robbery-extortion activities regardless of their rank and position,” the top cop said.
Last week, the PNP chief ordered the disarming of 16 policemen in the countryside who were accused of grave irregularities. He also ordered the filing of criminal and administrative charges against the accused who were all stripped of their badges, relieved from their assignments and transferred to the respective Personnel Holding and Administrative Units of their regional offices.
Agents of the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (PNP-IMEG) two Mondays ago arrested the officer-in-charge of the Zamboanga City Police Station 9 and four of his men for alleged robbery-extortion.
PNP-IMEG director, Colonel Thomas R. Frias Jr. identified the suspects as Major Orlyn Leyte and his four operatives from the Zamboanga City Police Station 9 Drug Enforcement Unit namely Staff Sergeants Hegenio Salvador and Asser Abdulkadim and Corporals Ismael Sasapan and Juman Arabani.
All are now facing criminal charges for robbery-extortion and administrative charges for grave misconduct.
The official said the accused officers were arrested in an entrapment operation in Barangay Ayala, Zamboanga following a complaint from local businesswoman Melanie Saloria.
He said the woman, a 57-year- old resident of Bgy. Cawit, complained that the police major demanded P90,000 from her in exchange for the ‘settlement’ of an alleged drug offense involving her.
Following the complaint, members of the IMEG Mindanao Field Unit, the Regional Intelligence Unit 9 of the PNP Intelligence Group headed by Brigadier Gen. Warren F. de Leon, the Police Regional Office 9 Regional Special Operations Group under Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Genaro E. Ylagan, the Zamboanga City Police Station and the PNP Special Action Force’s 55th Special Action Company under Major Gen. Bernabe M. Balba launched the entrapment operation.
The suspect was arrested shortly after he received the P90,000 worth of boodle money topped by two marked P1,000 bills. He and his co-accused were immediately stripped of his service firearm and brought to the Zamboanga City Police Station for documentation and filing of charges.
Frias said they discovered that the suspects contacted the complainant and told her that she is already included in their list of local drug personalities being targeted for neutralization.
“The threat comes with a monetary demand in exchange for the erasure of the businesswoman’s name in their drug list which is a serious offense,” said the official.
“We have arrested five police officers accused of extortion in line with our continuing implementation of the directive of Sinas to go after rogues in uniform regardless of their rank and stature. We assure the public too that we will immediately and properly act on all complaints against erring police officers and men being forwarded to us,” Frias said.
All five were placed under restrictive custody at the Zamboanga City police headquarters. They are now facing criminal charges for robbery-extortion and violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standard for Public Official and Employees.
Frias also called anew on the public to report the presence of any PNP personnel involved in irregularities to the PNP IMEG Hotline Numbers: SMART-09989702286 GLOBE- 09957952569. Information may also be forwarded to their Facebook Page: Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group and Twitter account: @imeg2017.
“We assure the public that the identities of the informants will be kept in utmost secrecy,” he said.
On the other hand, Sinas ordered the book thrown on 11 members of the Cebu City Police Office accused of conducting an illegal anti-narcotics raid last March 22 before one of them allegedly raped a 35-year woman they held in a secret detention facility.
The top cop ordered PRO7 director, Brigadier Gen. Ronnie S. Montejo, to relieve the accused policemen from the Cebu City Police Station 6 and transfer them to the PRO7 Regional Personnel Holding and Administrative Unit while the charges against them are being heard.
Sinas also ordered the PRO7 director to fully coordinate with the PNP-IMEG the filing of administrative charges against the 11 whom he also asked to be subjected to a mandatory drug test to find out if any one of them is using illegal substance.
In a report to the PNP chief, Frias said they launched an investigation into the complaint filed against the 11 by a concerned citizen followed up by a walk-in complainant last March 15 and 22.
The complainant identified as Ritchie Nepomuceno went to the IMEG Visayas Field Unit in Cebu City last March 22 and accused the policemen led by Staff Sergeant Celso Colita of rape, illegal search and illegal detention.
The woman claimed that at around 11:30 p.m. last March 9, Colita and around 10 other policemen entered her house in Tungkil, Minglanilla, Cebu purportedly looking for illegal firearms.
However, when they failed to find any gun in the area, the policemen allegedly seized the woman and took her money, jewelry, bags, a motorcycle and several other belongings.
The complainant said she was detained in a ‘secret detention facility’ of the Cebu City Police Station 6 around 1 a.m. the following day.
She also claimed that she was raped twice by Colita and was divested of P170,000 from her ATM account before being released without any charges at around 4 p.m. last March 11.
Frias said that after validating the complaint, they are set to file administrative and criminal cases against Colita and 10 other members of the Cebu City Police Station 6 Drug Enforcement Unit he identified as Chief Master Sgt. Eric Edgar Emia, Staff Sgts. Joseph Alcoseba and Michael Rhey Cabizares and Corporals Rochelito Mabulay, Emmanuel Martinez, Ejill Ferrolino, Carlo Irizari, Junel Pedroza, John Carl Aceron and Georny Abrasado.
The PNP-IMEG director said that Coleta was charged for two counts of rape apart from arbitrary detention, grave threats, grave coercion, robbery-extortion, violation of Republic Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 and RA 8353 or the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.
The other 10 accused will be facing the same complaints except for rape.
Frias said the 11 will also be facing administrative charges for grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.
