MPD chief vows to bust Ermita ‘kotong’ gang

Manila police director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales ordered yesterday the District Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (DAOCTF) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) to stop a “kotong” syndicate in Ermita from shortchanging overseas Filipino workers exchanging foreign currency to peso.

Reacting to The STAR story on how an OFW lost more than P400,000 to the syndicate,  Rosales has tasked DAOCTF officer-in-charge Superintendent Ernesto Tendero Jr. and CIDU chief Superintendent Edgar Wycoco to end the syndicate’s illegal activities.

“It seems that the (Ermita police station) cannot address this problem (kotong syndicate) permanently, so I am tasking the two of you to stop this nefarious activity,” he said in a handwritten note to Tendero and Wycoco.

The two officers told The STAR that they are now verifying the alleged connivance of some policemen with the syndicate.

“There will be no sacred cows in this drive,” Wycoco said.  “We will unmask the syndicate’s police protectors in due time and slap them with corresponding charges.”

Rosales said he wants the “kotong” syndicate stopped, not only in Ermita, but in the whole city, particularly Escolta, Recto, Quiapo and Divisoria.        – Nestor Etolle