‘Unworthy of his badge’

A traffic cop, who was arrested with a female employee of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for extortion yesterday morning in Quezon City, received a "spanking" from an irate director of the Philippine National Police-Traffic Management Group (PNP-TMG).

Aside from a jab to the side of his body, suspect PO2 Roel Renomeron, also received some harsh words from Chief Superintendent Danilo Mangila.

"Ikaw na lang sana ang napatay doon sa Lucena," an irate Mangila was overhead telling Renomeron. He was referring to four of his men, who were killed in an ambush staged by suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Quezon province last Saturday.

Renomeron and his alleged cohort Elsie Cervantes were arrested by Quezon City policemen in the vicinity of LTO office while allegedly in the act of receiving money from motorist Arjay Villaroman.

According to Villaroman, he was driving his car to the airport when Renomeron flagged him down along Balintawak, Quezon City yesterday for a still unknown traffic violation.

Without issuing a traffic violation ticket, Renomeron confiscated the license plates of Villaroman’s car and instructed him to proceed to the LTO to claim his car plates.

Before proceeding to the LTO, Villaroman reported the incident to the CPP-Kamuning station. The officers there wasted no time in setting up an entrapment operation, which subsequently resulted in the arrest of the policeman and his cohort at the LTO office.

Recovered from the suspect were the car plates and the money the two suspects had demanded from Villaroman.

Quezon City policemen also seized from the suspect his PNP ID and his caliber .38 service revolver.

Following his arrest, Renomeron was taken to Camp Crame, where he was presented to the media by Mangila and PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane.

During the presentation, Mangila lost his cool, approached Renomeron and delivered a jab to the side of his body.

Not contented, Mangila tried to remove the TMG patch attached to the suspect’s uniform.

Charges of robbery-extortion and anti-graft and corrupt practices and illegal possession of firearms are being prepared for filing against the suspects.