2 rookie cops nabbed in Antipolo

MANILA, Philippines - Two rookie policemen of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) were arrested after they were found to be in the possession of stolen cellular phones last Good Friday, police said yesterday.

Police Officers 1 Ignacio Calagos Jr., 27, and Michael Borja, 26, yielded eight stolen cellular phones, one of them owned by businessman Roberto Enriquez, 35, of Acropolis Subdivision in Taytay, Rizal.

Superintendent Rodino Elfa, Antipolo City police chief said Enriquez was walking barefoot along Oliveros street in Barangay De la Paz at around 2:30 a.m. when a group of men bumped him and grabbed his cellular phone.

Elfa said Borja and Calagos were formerly assigned to secure the Metro Rail Transit where they “befriended’ pickpockets they arrested.

“Their modus operandi is to arrest the pickpockets they handle ahead of policemen running after them, then free them. But they were assigned at the NCRPO and have no business operating in our jurisdiction,” said Elfa in an interview.