Cops deny planting evidence in Bilibid raid

Cameras don’t lie.

The head of a police team that seized P308,000 in fake money during a raid of a former mayor’s cell at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City laughed off claims that the evidence was planted.

"The claim of Ray Yap is self-serving. We videotaped the raid so it’s now up to the court to decide his fate," said Superintendent Miguel Laurel, head of the Regional Intelligence and Special Operations Office (RISOO).

Laurel filed on Monday illegal possession of counterfeit bills against Yap, a former mayor of Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental, after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas certified the seized bills were fake.

Yap had insisted that police found no evidence against him during the raid which took place at 11 a.m.

He and his brother, Roy, are serving life sentences after they were convicted of masterminding the murder of a political opponent in 1992.

Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco ordered Laurel to raid Yap’s cell last Feb. 5 following reports that he was involved in the distribution of fake P1,000 and P500 bills inside the NBP compound and neighboring areas.

Laurel said they coordinated with the office of prison chief Ricardo Macala, who in turn formed a team to accompany the officers.

As standard operating procedure, police and prison officials had marks in their forearms for easy identification. Laurel said they were allowed to carry cell phones to report the progress of their operation to Velasco. Two of the raiders had video and still photo cameras, the RISOO chief said.

When they entered Yap’s cell at the maximum security compound, the former mayor initially refused to cooperate. He later opened the metal brief case hidden under the flooring when Laurel threatened to take it as evidence.

Laurel said he will present the video footage as evidence once the court asks for it. "Nothing personal, we are only doing our job," he said.