'Camp Crame execs have allowance for official travel'

The Philippine National Police (PNP) denied yesterday that gambling lords in Cebu have been shouldering the expenses for food and accommodation of visiting Camp Crame officials.

"Camp Crame-based officers are given allowances for their accommodation and food whenever they are on official business outside of Metro Manila," said Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, PNP spokesman.

Bartolome was reacting to a report of The Freeman, which quoted a Cebu gambling lord as alleging that some local policemen solicit money from operators of masiao, an illegal numbers game, for the food and accommodation of visiting police officers.

The Freeman said a Cebu City police official has confirmed the self-confessed gambling lord's revelation that some policemen are asking financial support from gambling operators.

According to the source, each of the more than 20 gambling lords in Cebu City usually give police collectors sums ranging from P500 to P1,500.

The source, however, said they have no way of checking whether the money has, indeed, been used for the expenses of visiting police officers.

"It's definitely not allowed," Bartolome said, adding that PNP chief Director General Panfilo Lacson has directed regional and provincial police offices to report to Camp Crame incidents where visiting police officers ask for financial contributions for their accommodation.

Bartolome said the money allegedly solicited from Cebu City gambling lords could have been pocketed by the collectors themselves.

In Cebu, regional police officials expressed willingness to investigate policemen who are soliciting money from gambling lords. - With Freeman News Service