De Leon relieved elements of the entire precinct at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City following complaints filed by a number of promenading Filipinos, who allegedly shelled out large sum of money to their captors in exchange for the dropping of charges of public scandal against them.
According to De Leon, most of the victims of the suspects are lovers dating at the PICC but fell prey to the modus operandi of the rouge cops. "Instead of spending more time locating criminals, they are wasting their energy to earn extra money from illegal activities which is taboo under my leadership," said De Leon.
The Metro police chief explained that the PICC is one of the areas in Metro Manila eyed for development as tourist spot and the continued presence of the rouge cops would spell doom on their proposed project.
He vowed to totally stop the mulcting activities of erring policemen as he ordered a close monitoring of other places in Metro Manila like the dimly-lit areas of UP Campus in Quezon City and Caloocan City where rampant "hulidap" operations have been reported.
"We are now shifting our attention to attract tourists in the country so the entire police precinct will be replaced by tourists cops who will guide foreigners during the entire stay here," De Leon pointed out.
De Leon ordered the conversion of the PICC police precinct into a TOP Community Precinct to ensure the safety and security of tourists, both foreign and local, who visits the scenic view of the Manila Bay, PICC and its environs.
TOP cops are tourist police tasked to ensure a peaceful and orderly environment for the security and safety of tourists in the metropolis to reinforce the government’s program to maintain Metro Manila’s stature as a major tourist destination in the Southeast Asian region.
The tourist police shall implement a sustained crime prevention program anchored on the round-the-clock police visibility program for a no-nonsense, zero tolerance enforcement of laws and ordinances in different localities where tourists thrives. The operatives – apart from other criminal offenses – will focus on crimes, such as violation of anti-littering ordinances, anti-jaywalking ordinances, the anti-mendicancy law, anti-illegal law and the anti-vandalism law.
In a related development, De Leon ordered the relief of PO1 Rolando Ty, PO1 Ilfredson Dizon, PO1 Boots Redita, and PO1 Felix Lenoa, of the PCP2 in Muntinlupa City for mulcting P10,000 from two students last June 24.
The four cops accosted the victims at the Civic Drive, Filinvest, Alabang but released them hours later after payment. – Non Alquitran