Four Malabon City policemen arrested for alleged kidnapping and extortion of an inmate’s girlfriend have been charged before the Department of Justice with various crimes, such as kidnapping, robbery and extortion.
Senior Police Office 2 Ricky Pelicano, Police Officer 2 Wilson Sanchez, PO1 Joselito Ereneo, and PO1 Frances Camua were brought before Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Azarcon for inquest proceedings.
Apart from kidnapping and robbery-extortion, the suspects were also charged with carnapping and violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
However, the suspects opted for a preliminary investigation and waived their right to be immediately released from detention.
The four respondents were arrested last Monday by joint operatives of the Philippine National Police from Northern Police District and the PNP Counter-Intelligence Task Force, Anti-Kidnapping Group; Malabon City police station and Highway Patrol Group.
Based on the charge sheet, the victim identified by authorities only with the alias “Norma” was abducted last May 20 in Quezon City after she visited her boyfriend Raymond Bongabon, an inmate at the medium security compound of the New Bilibid Prison.
The suspects reportedly took the victim’s Starex van along with other items including set of jewelries, an iPhone 7, Laptop and P6,000 cash.
They allegedly called the victim’s family and demanded P5 million in exchange for her liberty. They also called Bongabon to give a separate ransom of P2 million.
The suspects also ordered the victim to transact with her Chinese contact for one kilo of shabu. The police suspects received the shabu and still insisted on the payment of ransom last Sunday evening.
But when the victim’s family failed to raise the ransom demand, the police suspects filed a case for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act against the victim using the shabu she transacted as evidence.
The police suspects then took the victim at Tondo Medical Center for physical examination as a standard operational procedure to make it look like the arrest of the victim was legitimate.
Authorities then rescued the victim and arrested the four suspects in an entrapment operation.
The respondents have already been relieved from their post, disarmed of their service pistols, police ID and badge.
Authorities are also pursuing the hunt for the seven other cohorts of the suspects from the PNP’s Civil Security Group and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
Also joining the hunt for the remaining suspects are operatives from National Capital Region Police Office.
The seven other suspects, whose names temporarily withheld, remain at large. They are members of the National Police Civil Security Group and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
NCRPO director Oscar Albayalde, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction on the coordination made by all concerned units leading to the arrest of the four suspects and the identification of the others who are at large and now the subject of follow-up operations.
“I advise those who are at large to surrender and face the accusation against them. Otherwise, to the full extent of the law, we will make sure that arrests will be made in the coming days,” said Albayalde.
“We will provide the necessary support to all operating units working in our jurisdiction so that our campaign will gain results like this,” he added.
Albayalde asked the public to help police authorities by reporting or giving any information to the whereabouts of the seven policemen. “Rest assured that you have our protection. We shall continue cleansing our ranks,” he said.
The NCRPO is presently investigating more than 300 police officers under its command for their involvement in various illegal activities.
