PNP chief: No compromise for those who are guilty

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. warned yesterday that no quarter will be given to rouge policemen, especially those involved in heinous crimes such as kidnapping for ransom.

Ebdane said discreet investigations were being conducted on 356 policemen with pending criminal and administrative charges to determine if they were involved in criminal activities.

A similar probe is going on in the military, Ebdane added.

He said a memorandum of agreement has been signed by the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for consolidation of efforts to purge the ranks of scalawags and misfits.

Ebdane said the probe panel was directed to extend no compromises to the so-called hoodlums in uniform.

Ebdane’s warning came even as a businessman from Parañaque complained that a police team tried to extort P1 million from him with a threat to "plant" a kilo of shabu in his car.

The complainant, Ryan Manalo, said his ordeal started when the policemen flagged down his car the other night while he was driving home with his family, on suspicion that he was using a stolen car. In a radio interview, Manalo said the policemen, who introduced themselves as agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), forced him to go with them to Camp Crame where they demanded P1 million in exchange for letting him go, or else they would "plant" shabu in his car.

CIDG director Chief Superintendent Eduardo Matillano vowed to order a full investigation of Manalo’s complaint.

Ebdane said earlier police intelligence agents were closely monitoring the movements of certain policemen and soldiers with derogatory records for possible involvement in the fresh wave of kidnappings now sweeping Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

This developed after a family driver who was kidnapped the other day along with the twin sons of his boss in Parañaque City, told police investigators that he overheard one of their abductors talking on the cellular phone with an unknown general.

"Okay na, General," driver Cerilo Co, 52, quoted one of their captors as saying.

A Camp Crame source said investigators were going over the records of certain police officials, some of whom were already retired.

The source admitted, though, that they still have no concrete evidence against the suspects. "For now, we don’t have any solid evidence, only derogatory records of some retired police officials."