Lawman charged with robbery

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila policeman will be forced to defend himself today against allegations that he robbed a local businessman.

Edgardo Sy, 56, of Caloocan City, said he complained that Police Officer 1 Marlon San Diego robbed him of P1,700 on Saturday morning, then accompanied him to a nearby automated teller machine (ATM) and demanded that he withdraw money.

According to Chief Inspector Arsenio Riparip, San Diego stopped Sy in Binondo around 2 a.m., for driving his motorcycle without a helmet.

“However, Sy was wise enough to change his pin number while he was withdrawing so the transaction did not materialize,” Riparip said.

He said San Diego should have brought the complainant to the police station if there was any violation of the law.

“However, what is aggravating is that he asked Sy to withdraw money from the ATM machine,” he added.

Riparip said it was standard procedure to for any police officer charged with a crime to come to his office and confront his accuser before any legal action is taken against him.

Earlier this month, eight policemen from the Manila Police District's anti-car theft section were charged with robbery-extortion for allegedly arresting a casino financier and demanding that he shell out money so he would not be charged with kidnapping.