3 NPD cops charged with extortion

MANILA, Philippines - At least three police officers of the Northern Police District (NPD) are facing charges before the National Police Commission (Napolcom) for allegedly arresting a vendor and demanding P300,000 for her release, officials said yesterday.

Napolcom special investigator Jaime Buragay Jr. said meat vendor Editha Morales, 33, related her ordeal in a sworn statement dated Jan. 5.

She identified the officers as Chief Inspector Romeo Ricalde, Senior Police Officer Fernando Gomboc and PO3 Doelothone Gatdula, all of the NPD District Anti-Illegal Drugs (DAID).

Morales said she had gone to visit her husband, an inmate at the Caloocan City Jail, on Jan. 3. She said she was in front of the city jail at around 4 p.m. when two men grabbed her and shoved her into a gray Toyota Innova.

She said she was taken into the NPD-DAID office at the NPD headquarters, which is across the street from the city jail, and interrogated even as she said she had done nothing wrong.

A man, later identified as Ricalde, allegedly told Morales he will process her papers, then put her in a cell. She said the men took her P1,200 and her postal identification card.

The men later led her out of her cell and took her fingerprints and mug shots. Gatdula asked her to “just cooperate,” Morales said.

The man who took her mug shots then took out P2,600 and a small plastic bag of what looked like shabu, she said.

At this point, Morales’ mother, Edna, 62, arrived and the policemen allegedly asked her if she could produce P300,000 for her daughter’s release. Edna pawned her daughter’s house for P170,000 and gave the money to Gatdula and another policeman identified as “Toto.”

Gatdula reportedly told Edna that she could bring her daughter home. Morales said she took her postal identification card from the policemen. When she asked what would happen to the “papers” in which she was charged with a crime, the policemen said they would take care of it, the complainant said.

The NPD was supposed to hold a police lineup yesterday to allow Morales to identify the police officers who allegedly extorted money from her, but this was indefinitely postponed. The three police officers allegedly wanted to settle with Morales.