The complaining policemen, mostly non-commissioned officers, said it has been the practice of the Comptroller Unit of the Western Police District (WPD) to deduct from each policeman P40 for every monetary benefit given to them and P30 to P40 from their regular salaries.
With at least 3,000 members of the WPD, the Comptroller Office collects an average of P120,000 out of the monetary benefit, and at least P90,000 every payday, the policemen claim.
They said they are not aware where the collections from the monetary benefits go, but were told by the pagador (payroll clerk) that deductions from their salaries were given as donations to the family of their deceased colleagues.
But the policemen said they learned that the WPD gives only P15,000 to the family of every deceased policeman.
The uproar was more pronounced recently when the policemen received their P3,000 bonus from Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, together with their half-month salary.
The policemen claimed that before their bonus checks were issued , they were asked to shell out P40 by the payroll clerk, and another P30 before they get their payroll check.
Inspector Elsa Mayo, deputy chief of the WPD’s Comptroller Section, admitted in an interview that the deductions were meant as "grease money" to City Hall personnel to expedite the release of their monetary benefits.
"Pang gastos yun. Alam naman ng mga pulis yun. Matagal na namin tong ginagawa. Bat nagrereklamo pa sila? (It's for expenses. They know that. We’ve been doing this a long time. Why are they complaining now?)" a visibly irked Mayo said.
Mayo added that it would take time before the police benefits are released from the City Hall "unless the personnel there are treated to some perks."
With regards to the P30 collected from each policeman every payday, Mayo affirmed that it was meant as their contribution to the fund for their deceased colleagues.