ZAMBOANGA CITY – A local police official and four other cops were arrested after they allegedly robbed jewelleries and extorted money from a store owner during a drug raid, officials said Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, the regional police chief, said among those arrested was Maj. Orlyn Leyte, police station commander in the village of Ayala. He said Leyte was arrested on Monday night by members of the Philippine National Police - Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (PNP-IMEG) led by Lt. Col. Mario Cortez, and other police units.
The others who were reportedly involved in the robbery and extortion were SSgts. Hegenio Salvador, Asser Abdulkadim, Cpls. Ismael Sasapan and Juman Arabani – all members of Leyte’s Drug Enforcement Unit.
Undercover cops recovered from Leyte some P90,000 in marked money which was used to pay and settle the case against the store owner, whose identity was not made public by the police for security reason.
“The victim was robbed and divested of her jewelleries and a week of her store earnings in the guise of a drug bust operation,” a police report said, adding, the suspects are all facing charges of robbery and extortion and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standard for Public Official and Employees.
Ylagan said: “The arrest of Maj. Orlyn Leyte in an entrapment operation
for complaint of robbery, extortion is the result of PNP’s internal cleansing
program. Once again, this Regional Office would like to make it clear that we
do not tolerate any wrongdoings of our personnel either officer or members of
the ranks.”
“While we intensify our campaign against illegal drugs and effectively
manage all kinds of police operations, we do not want any unscrupulous schemes
devised by our personnel to advance their personal interest. We will continue
to cleanse our ranks in order to improve the best quality of law enforcement
service in Zamboanga Peninsula.”
He said the implementation
of the PNP internal cleansing program is relentless.
“The relentless effort of
the PNP in the campaign against erring personnel and filing of appropriate
charges against them are among the PNP’s step to demonstrate its dedication to
quality public service, transparency and accountability,” Ylagan said.
In January this year, Maj.
Jivertson Pelovello, the chief of the Drug Enforcement Unit of the Zamboanga
City Police Office, was also sacked from his post after he tested positive for illegal
drug use. He was among 60 members of the local police force who underwent drug
testing in December.
And in June 2020, undercover police agents also arrested Capt. Haran Ulah, the
municipal police chief of Zamboanga del Norte’s Godod town in southern
Philippines after he was accused of robbery and extortion.
Ulah allegedly demanded P10,000
so-called protection money from treasure hunter Jose Abarca. The money was in
exchange for the unhampered treasure hunting activities of Abarca in the
village of Raba.
Abarca reported the matter and sought the assistance of PNP-IMEG which
drew up a plan to arrest the town’s police chief. Ulah was arrested in an
entrapment operation at his office after receiving an initial P5,000 in marked
money he demanded from Abarca. (Mindanao Examiner)
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