PNP drug-busting unit arrests own man for extortion

Elements of the police Anti-Illegal Drugs-Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF) arrested yesterday a policeman, one of their own, for allegedly extorting P70,000 from a drug pusher detained at their headquarters in Camp Crame.

The suspect, PO3 Edgar Galorio of AID-SOTF Special Operations Unit 2 did not resist arrest when cornered by his fellow officers at 4 p.m.

"This goes to show that even in our backyard, we are conducting anti-kotong operations," said Superintendent Arnold Aquilar, SOU2 team leader. "We are not tolerating any wrongdoing by policemen, especially our own operatives."

Aguilar said Galorio was among the AID-SOTF operatives who arrested last Monday one Alejandro Moreno during a buy-bust operation in Sta. Ana, Manila.

Moreno, a suspected drug pusher in the neighborhood, yielded a sachet of shabu, and P500 in marked money, Aguilar said.

However, unknown to Aguilar, Galorio had demanded P75,000 from Moreno’s wife Soledad and neighbor Julita Bianes allegedly to downgrade the charges against the suspect from drug pushing to drug possession.

After several hours of negotiations, the amount was lowered to P70,000 and Galorio gave Soledad and Bianes until 4 a.m. to raise the money.

However, the two women reported the extortion attempt to Senior Superintendent Federico Laciste Jr., the AID-SOTF intelligence chief.

Laciste, in turn, alerted Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay, who gave the go-signal for an entrapment operation against Galorio.

At 4 a.m. yesterday, Galorio escorted Bianes to Moreno’s cell.

Unknown to Galorio, AID-SOTF teams headed by Superintendent Neri Ilagan and Superintendent Nelson Yabut were monitoring his movements.

They were accompanied by a news team from the ABS-CBN.

Reports said Galorio escorted Bianes out of the jail premises before returning to Moreno to receive the marked money.

ABS-CBN news footage showed a surprised Galorio as Ilagan and Yabut announced his arrest.

Galorio admitted receiving a copy of a tabloid newspaper from Moreno, but claimed he did not know that there was money in between the pages. He vehemently denied the extortion charges against him.

Meanwhile, Aglipay ordered an investigation to determine the administrative culpability of Inspector Gilbert Farinas and PO1 Junjun Mataverde, both of the SOU2, the duty officer and jailer, respectively, at the time of the incident.

Aglipay ordered the filing of robbery-extortion charges against Galorio who is currently detained in a separate cell at AID-SOTF headquarters in Camp Crame.