2 QC ‘kotong’ cops plead not guilty

MANILA, Philippines - Two police officers accused of extorting P15,000 from a call center agent in March pleaded not guilty to robbery charges during their arraignment Monday.

Police Officers 1 George Verbo Jr. and Thomas Janssen Tulio, previously assigned at the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 5 in Fairview, entered their plea before Judge Santiago Arenas of the Regional Trial Court Branch 217.

Arraigned with them were police informants Jerry Sorra and Domingo Mendaro, who also pleaded not guilty.

The charge against a fifth suspect, identified as PO1 Benjie Tan, is pending before the city prosecutor’s office and has yet to be resolved.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by call center agent Salustiano John Douglas, who accused the police officers and the informants of arresting him on false drug charges on March 5.

He said they extorted from him P15,000 in exchange for dropping the drug charges.

Based on the information filed before the court, Douglas was waiting for his partner, Nominia Blanco, around 10 a.m. along Buick street in Barangay South Fairview when five men in a black Mitsubishi Montero arrested him.

Douglas said the police officers brought him to the basement of the Fairview police station and told him to confess that he ordered one of their companions to buy drugs. He denied the allegations of the police officers.

In her sworn statement, Blanco claimed that Verbo threatened her that Douglas will be brought to Camp Crame if she fails to produce P20,000. She said she was able to negotiate the amount down to P15,000.

Verbo and Tulio were detained after the victims reported the incident to the QCPD. Sorra and Mendaro were arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by the police.

National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Leonardo Espina has relieved the police officers from their posts and placed them on floating status pending the resolution of the case.

Tan surfaced on March 8, a day after inquest prosecutor Conrado Rosario recommended the filing of charges against the other suspects. The prosecutor earlier recommended the case against Tan for further investigation.

Verbo, Tulio, Sorra, and Mendaro have each posted P100,000 bail.