Police 'payola' via ATMs bared

A number of ranking police officials in Metro Manila continue to receive weekly 'payola' money from vice and flesh trade operators through automated teller machines (ATMs), officials said.

Upon receipt of the report, a worried Metro Manila police director Chief Superintendent Edgar Aglipay, ordered a thorough probe and vowed to impose severe penalties on those who continue to receive weekly "tong" from gambling and bold show operators.

"We will gather evidence and file necessary charges against, not only the police officials concerned, but also the bribe givers," said Aglipay.

Earlier, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Panfilo Lacson had ordered all regional, district and station commanders to refrain from receiving weekly "payola" from vendors, vice and flesh trade operators.

However, less than a month after Lacson issued his orders, a number of police officials in Metro Manila carried on the "tong" collection by employing civilians to collect their grease money.

When this scheme was exposed, a number of police officials resorted to the use of ATMs to get away from Lacson's directive; and to evade monitoring by the Presidential Anti-Organize Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), the police officials use fictitious names in their bank accounts.

"The police officials hand over their ATM numbers to the gambling lords and illegal establishment owners with strict instructions not to reveal their secret operations to anybody," said a STAR source. This ATM scheme is also used by unscrupulous tabloid columnists, the source added.

Aglipay has directed his deputy for administration and concurrent Regional Investigation and Intelligence Command (RIIC) head Chief Superintendent Efren Fernandez to look into the ATM report.

The RIIC reported lately that the five district directors and 37 station commanders in Metro Manila have completely stopped receiving weekly "tong" from gambling lords and illegal establishment operators.

Because of the ATM report, Aglipay directed Fernandez to come up with measures to prevent the "sliding back" to old habits by a number of "enterprising" police officials.

"We should come up with measures to make our 'no to grease money' campaign a continuous effort," said Aglipay.