Angeles police station chief, 3 others sacked over extortion

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – A police station chief here and three of his men have been relieved of their posts after closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed their alleged extortion of some P400,000 from a nephew of first district Rep. Carmelo Lazatin.

Senior Superintendent Danny Bautista, city police chief, said he has ordered the relief of Chief Inspector Rico Cayabyab, head of Police Station 1, and his three men, SPO1 Ronald Santos, PO2 Cyrus Lising and PO2 Michael Villareal, pending investigation that they allegedly extorted P400,000 from Lazatin’s nephew.

Bautista was provided CCTV footage from the Fort Stotsenburg Hotel at the Clark Freeport here, purportedly showing Lising and Villareal accompanying the nephew and a son of Lazatin in encashing a check for P400,000 that was later given to the police officers.

Lazatin said his nephew and a friend were driving home at around 1 a.m. last Jan. 19 when they were flagged down by policemen who accused them of using marijuana after purportedly smelling the illegal substance in their car.

“They were brought to Station 1 where they were later told that shabu was found in their car. My nephew said they were threatened and harassed until the cops finally told them that no charges would be filed against them if they could produce P400,000,” Lazatin said.

Lazatin, a three-term mayor of this city, said he has never tolerated drug users even if they are his relatives, adding though that he would not allow the planting of evidence and extortion.

With the policemen escorting them, Lazatin said his nephew went to the house of a friend, a son of a hotel owner, to ask if he could borrow P400,000, but the latter had no such amount.

Back at Police Station 1, Lazatin said his nephew contacted his son, who asked the former to just write a check for P400,000 which could be encashed at the casino of Fort Stotsenberg. Lazatin is part-owner of the hotel.

With Lising and Villareal in tow, Lazatin’s nephew and son went to the casino and encashed the check. “What I know is that (my son) later turned over the cash to the station commander himself back at the station where (my nephew) and his friend were allowed to leave without charges,” Lazatin said.

The CCTV footage reportedly captured the incident at the hotel casino, with the two policemen in civilian clothes.

“I don’t want them merely relieved, I want them dismissed,” Lazatin said.

He also reported the case to Chief Superintendent Allan Purisima, Central Luzon police director, who assured him that the accused police officers could readily be dismissed based on “sufficient evidence.”

Lazatin said he wanted the P400,000 returned but suggested that his nephew instead donate it to the poor.