Taguig precinct chief nabbed for extortion

MANILA, Philippines — A precinct commander of the Taguig City police was apprehended yesterday for allegedly extorting P100,000 from the mother of a drug suspect in exchange for the downgrading of charges against him.

Chief Inspector Paul Bryan Torres, head of the Police Community Precinct (PCP) 6 in Barangay Ususan, was arrested along with Police Officer 1 Ariel Internal by agents of the Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) and Intelligence Group.

National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Guillermo Eleazar ordered the relief of 38 operatives of the PCP 6 following the arrest of Torres and Internal.

“We will not tolerate any wrongdoing of our men,”Eleazar said. “The people now trust the police as more and more citizens are reporting the illegal activities of rogue cops.”

Initial reports showed that Rochelle Calle’s son, Raven, was collared by members of the PCP 6 for alleged drug pushing at around 10 a.m.

While inside the police station, Torres allegedly demanded P100,000 from Calle in exchange for the downgrading of charges against her son, from drug pushing to possession.

After hours of negotiation, the demand was lowered to P59,000.

Unknown to Torres, Calle reported the extortion try to the CITF, which set up an entrapment operation against the suspects in coordination with Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Eliseo Cruz.

Torres allegedly received the marked money from Calle on the second floor of the police station, according to Cruz.

Cruz said the sacked PCP personnel were placed under the custody of the SPD. They would be replaced by policemen from the SPD headquarters to prevent the interruption of police services to the public, he said.

Cruz also ordered his chiefs of police to reshuffle overstaying PCP commanders to prevent them from being involved in extortion and other illegal activities.

QCPD eyes new anti-drug scheme

Meanwhile, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) is trying out a new system to boost the war on drugs by mandating all its personnel to take part in at least two drug busts.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent Joselito Esquivel said he would deploy all 5,200 policemen in the fight against drugs by reassigning them to the drug enforcement units (DEUs) on rotation basis.

Esquivel expressed hope that the new system would not only help in arresting more drug suspects but also lead to convictions in court.

Under the current system, he said only operatives of the DEUs are allowed to take part in drug stings.

The QCPD has around 300 personnel assigned to the district and DEUs in 12 police stations.

Esquivel downplayed possible abuse under the system, saying it would help deter rogue policemen. – With Romina Cabrera