‘Hulidap’ cops becoming a major PNP headache

DAVAO CITY — Law enforcers engaging in the "arrest and extortion" racket — or "hulidap" in police parlance — are increasingly becoming a major problem of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, PNP spokesman, said cases of "hulidap" are now on the rise as revealed by the Filipino-Chinese community.

"Our friends in the Filipino-Chinese community have been bothered by these ‘hulidap’ cops. We really have to address the problem," said Bataoil, who was here for the PNP national command conference over the weekend.

Using this modus operandi, these unscrupulous policemen arrest a victim and even bring him to the police station where he is threatened with charges if he does not shell out an amount.

These "hulidap" law enforcers usually prey on Filipino-Chinese and often hold their victims until their families or associates are able to cough up the money.

The Filipino-Chinese community has bewailed that although ransom kidnappings may have slightly gone down, cases of police extortion have reportedly significantly gone up.

"We vow to arrest these ‘hulidap’ cops and jail them immediately," Bataoil said.

He further said PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao is bent on pursuing a transformation program that would make the country’s 115,000 policemen more capable, effective and credible.

"We are now on the second phase of this transformation program in an effort to revitalize the PNP and, at the same time, address problems such as ‘hulidap’ cops," Bataoil said.