2 Pasay cops face dismissal for extort try

MANILA, Philippines - Two Pasay City policemen are in danger of being dismissed from the police service for allegedly attempting to extort P200,000 from two students they arrested for possession of one stick of dried marijuana leaves at a checkpoint last May 16.

Senior Police Officers 3 Radito Dugan and Ricardo Lavarez are facing very serious charges, said Superintendent Matthew Baccay, head of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Baccay said he is readying pre-charge investigation against Dugan for grave misconduct and Lavarez for attempted extortion.

Both Dugan and Lavarez were assigned to the Police Community Precinct 1 (PCP 1) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) complex in Pasay City.

Cousins Red Vallejo, 20, and Junar Zuniga, 21, both students, said they went drinking with friends at the PICC complex last May 16. They said Dugan flagged down their taxi at a checkpoint, asked them to get out of the vehicle and frisked them.

NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales said Dugan’s alleged action violates his standing order for policemen manning 80 NCRPO checkpoints in Metro Manila to simply conduct a “plain view” search of vehicles and have no contact with commuters.

Dugan claimed Zuniga dropped something like a test tube, which later turned out to contain one rolled marijuana cigarette.

At the PCP 1 headquarters, Lavarez, the duty officer, said the offense of Zuniga and Vallejo carries a P200,000 bail. He allegedly told Zuniga’s father that they could settle the case for P50,000.

The policemen filed illegal drug possession charges against Zuniga and Vallejo when the students allegedly refused to settle. Vallejo was released for further investigation after he tested negative for illegal drugs while Zuniga remained in jail after he tested positive for drug residue, Baccay said.