Manila employee nabbed for extortion

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila city hall employee was arrested last week for allegedly demanding money from a businesswoman as a penalty for violating city ordinances in renovating her building, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.

Arsenia Panlilio, 43, was arrested on March 26 after receiving marked money from complainant Sunshine Mae Pelicano. Panlilio works as an administrative aide at the city government’s department of engineering and public works.

Pelicano told the NBI that in February, she applied for additional building permits but an inspector, Neptali Talastas, told her she committed a violation.

Panlilio reportedly demanded P15,000 to pay for a soil test but refused to issue an official receipt, then later asked for P20,500 – P10,500 for sanitary inspection and P10,000 for Talastas – and threatened that she would be meted additional penalties if she failed to pay, Pelicano said.