THE Counter-Intelligence Task Force, the PNP’s branch tasked to pin down erring policemen, is monitoring the supposed involvement of over a thousand police in extortion activities within and outside of their assigned posts.
Senior Supt. Chuiquito Malayo, commander of the CITF, said they were extensively and continuously validating reports of alleged complicity of 1,122 police in illegal activities, mostly extortion.
So far, 41 personnel and 15 civilians had been arrested for extortion over the last six months since the creation of CITF last January.
Malayo said the alleged involvement of policemen in extortion activities was based on 1,180 police-related concerns out of the 7,049 reports and complaints received through its Short Messaging System hot line 0998 6702286 and 0995 7958569.
Among those identified were 1,122 police personnel—249 officers and 873 non-officers—allegedly involved in different forms of irregularities, Malayo said.
Of the total, Malayo said 641 personnel were cited in the SMS as having been involved in three most prevalent violations, either as protector of illegal activities relating to illegal drugs and extortion.
He said an extensive and in-depth validation of SMS reports tagged 385 personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office, 147 from the Calabarzon and 141 from Central Luzon.
The SMS reports received stemmed from alleged violations and complaints against PNP personnel as protector of illegal activities, drug use and trafficking, extortion, illegal gambling, “hulidap,” physical injuries, illegal logging, unexplained wealth, kidnapping, smuggling, gunrunning and other anomalies.
Since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in July last year, several dozen erring policemen were dismissed from the service for their involvement in various offenses, particularly in illegal drugs, and extortion, while nearly 1,000 more PNP personnel faced administrative charges.
In Metro Manila alone, 46 policemen were dismissed, 63 others suspended while four police officers were demoted.
NCRPO director Oscar Albayalde warned erring policemen to stop their illegal activities or face dismissal.
He emphasized that his office had zero tolerance against erring cops or “bad eggs’ while continuing his review of 896 cases against policemen facing administrative cases.