7 of Lim’s men face extortion raps

Seven police officers of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim’s special action team were charged with attempted robbery (extortion) and threat by a gym instructor of the City College of Manila (CCM) and two others they arrested last Sunday for possession of steroid supplements, which the lawmen said are prohibited in the country.

Gym instructor Michael John Gonzales, 27; Nizzar Khan Jannaral, 25; and Bernard Cabal, 25, said they were arrested in front of the Puregold department store on Tayuman street, Sta. Cruz by police officers who are members of the Mayor’s Special Action Team (MSAT) while they were carrying a box containing 600 bottles of various brands of steroids.

Lim is also known as the Philippines’ “Dirty Harry” for his controversial approaches to fighting crime, such as spray-painting warnings on the homes of alleged drug pushers. He created the MSAT specifically to go after illegal drugs and illegal gambling in the city.

The three complainants said they were released when they agreed to pay the seven MSAT members P350,000. Gonzales contacted Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales and reported the alleged extortion attempt. Rosales then ordered the MPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics unit to arrest the seven police officers.

Senior Police Officer 3 Ricardo Magbanua and Police Officers 2 Edgar Perez and Marianito Navida were arrested by a SWAT team at the MSAT holding center in the CCM compound after the complainants identified them.

There are at least four other MSAT police officers involved in the alleged extortion attempt, according to the complainants, but MSAT head Chief Inspector Alexander Navarette refused to bring the four to the MPD’s General Assignment Section (GAS) for confrontation.

Navarette, Lim’s godson, is reportedly about to be removed from his post due to alleged anomalous transactions he has made. He denied the allegations.

Navarette named the four other police officers involved in the alleged extortion attempt  as SPO2s Juanito Singson and Felix Alquiroz, PO3 Roberto Natividad and PO1 Rodelio Gaddi. He also advised GAS chief Superintendent Eleazar Matta to file the case against the four others he named directly before the prosecutor’s office.

A STAR source revealed that Navarette misled the GAS investigators by not naming the police officers who allegedly tried to extort money from the three complainants. The source named them as SPO4 Alex Yabut, SPO1 Feliciano de Leon, PO3 Rosauro Embay and one PO2 Mortillo.

“(The ones) Navarette had named are the ‘sacrificial lambs,’” the source said.

Matta said he will bring the seized steroid supplements to the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to determine if they contain banned substances such as ketamine, a veterinary anesthetic sometimes used as a recreational drug.

“I am wondering why the MSAT operatives conducted the arrest without a representative from the BFAD, which is a standard operating procedure,” Matta said.