3 police officers face relief over body camera deal

MANILA, Phillipines — An alleged P5-million extortion attempt by three ranking police officers on a prospective supplier of body cameras has hampered the acquisition of the equipment worth P334 million by the Philippine National Police.

PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa said three police officials from the bids and awards committee allegedly demanded P5 million from at least one unnamed bidder vying for the contract to supply body cameras for the police force.

The three officers Majors Emerson Sales, Rholly Caraggayan and Angel Beros were part of the technical ¡working group of the PNP bids and awards committee (BAC).

The three have been relieved from their posts and are now facing administrative proceedings, as well as criminal charges to be filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

“I promised the members of the BAC that I will dismiss these three police majors and they are undergoing now administrative proceedings. I think within the month of November we will be coming up with their verdict but I am sure that they will be dismissed because this is also part of our anti-corruption campaign,” Gamboa said at a briefing.

Sales and Caraggayan have since gone absent without official leave, while Beros is still in active service.

The acting PNP chief said the controversy, as well disagreements over specifications, has caused delays in the body camera procurement.

While the controversy was a “setback” for the BAC, it was an isolated case for the PNP, which has already purchased some P26 billion worth of items in the last three years.

Gamboa said the PNP hopes to finish bidding out the project before the end of the year, as the fund for the project released in 2018 might revert to the treasury if it remained unused.

The PNP revisited its testing parameters, specifications and terms of reference after all eight proponents were disqualified from the bidding.

BAC is looking at obligating the money by December so that deliveries could be made by the second or third quarter of next year.

The PNP first planned to buy more than 37,000 body cameras in 2017 during the time of then PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, following allegations of extrajudicial killings during anti-drug operations.

Meanwhile, Gamboa said the PNP is “managing” despite not having a permanent chief.

“I am the OIC and effectively I head the organization and answerable and we can manage with the powers given to me by the Napolcom (National Police Commission). I don’t see any problem,” he said at a briefing.