EDITORIAL - Cops and kidnappers

There is never a dearth of reminders about the need for cleansing in the Philippine National Police. Yesterday two cops were apprehended while in custody of a Taiwanese businessman. The cops said the businessman was being booked because he was an illegal alien. Other cops didn’t think so, and promptly arrested the two police officers for kidnapping.

Kidnapping? Investigators said the businessman was taken from his farm in Magalang, Pampanga early Tuesday by the suspects and several accomplices, who accused the victim of being an illegal alien. Later, the victim’s wife received a call from the suspects who allegedly demanded P300,000 for his release. The woman sought police help. During the payoff at a mall in Pampanga, two of the suspects were arrested and part of the money recovered. The two police officers who were with the businessman, getting wind of the bust, apparently tried to pass off the case as a legitimate police operation and brought him to their head office in Quezon City.

That office is the Department of the Interior and Local Government, home of Task Force Jericho, the supposedly elite police team that was created to go after illegal gambling operations. Chief Inspector Orlando Melchor and Police Officer 2 Darius Salonga of Task Force Jericho had no special orders to go after illegal aliens. Neither did their alleged accomplices – Jericho civilian employee Alvin Nucum and civilian agent Kenneth Sia.

It’s not the first time that cops have been accused of a shakedown or involvement in ransom kidnapping. Police involvement in illegal activities is the biggest hindrance to the anti-crime campaign and is the main weakness of the battle against terrorism. The only positive development in the latest case is that the suspects were caught. It will take many more such busts, however, before the rot can be excised from the PNP.