A Chinese woman kidnapped by a police officer and his brother was rescued by the Pasay City Police, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Monday.
The kidnapping was one in a recent string of incidents involving cops, 24 of whom were relieved after testing positive for drug use in Mandaluyong City.
In a report by state-run Philippine News Agency, NCRPO director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said Zhou Yunqiing, 26, was abducted by Staff Sgt. Lordgin Antonino, 34; and his brother Nelson, 20, at around 10:48 p.m. Sunday in Pasay City.
Nartatez said the police received information on the incident around 1 a.m. on Monday from the victim’s friend, Malaysian Law Yi Wei, 34.
Wei went to the Pasay police substation 3 in Libertad to seek assistance regarding his friend who was taken by the suspects who reportedlt posed as agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for an alleged case of human trafficking.
Wei also said the victim was detained inside a room at Qing Qing Hotel in Pasay City.
He also showed a photo of the victim who was then handcuffed and a photo of a police ID bearing the name “PMSG John Reggie Reyes” as well as the text message from the suspects who asked for P500,000 in exchange for the woman’s release.
Authorities launched an operation at the hotel and saw Lordgin, who matched the description on the police ID shown by Wei, sitting in the lobby of the establishment, the PNA report said.
When the police approached the suspect, he identified himself as a police officer assigned at the CIDG Pasay and claimed that he was involved in an operation at the hotel.
However, the police arrested Lordgin after verifying with the District Special Operations Unit (DSOU) of SPD that the unit was not conducting any operation at the establishment at that time.
Police officers proceeded to a room at the hotel where they rescued the victim and arrested the police officer’s brother.
The police officer had a 9mm Taurus with serial number TBW77621 classified as a property of the Philippine National Police, a police ID, a wallet, P14,000; five assorted identification cards, and a mobile phone.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police on Monday reported that 24 police officers, including relieved Mandaluyong City police chief Col. Cesar Gerente and two other non-commissioned officers, tested positive for illegal drug use from January to August.
PNP Forensic Group director, Police Brig. Gen. Constancio Chinayog Jr. said that 24 of the 115,983 police personnel who underwent the initial screening nationwide tested positive for using illegal drugs.
“The drug testing is a continuing activity by the Forensic Group. This year, we have tested 115,983, and 24 tested positive, but it is just 0.02 percent [of the population],” Chinayog said in a press briefing.
Confirmatory tests showed positive results for either crystal meth or marijuana use.
Gerente was relieved from his position as Mandaluyong City police chief and was replaced by Police Col. Mary Grace Madayag on August 28.
Also on Monday, the PNP said it will order the ex-cop who was caught on video hitting a cyclist on the head and pulling a gun on him to return his retirement benefits.
“As a matter of procedure, we are already preparing a demand letter for patrolman [Wilfredo] Gonzales to return the money,” PNP Retirement and Benefits Administration Service (PRBS) director Police Brigadier General Niño David Rabaya said in a press conference.
“We are already taking initial actions for the recovery of the said payment of his pension,” he added.
Rabaya said Gonzales had received a lump sum of his pension for three years from 2016 and 2019.
He also said that Gonzales stopped receiving his pension in 2019 whenthe PRBS received a dismissal order against the ex-cop.
If Gonzales does not return the retirement benefits, Rabaya said the PNP will file a complaint against him.
A video widely circulated on social media showed Gonzales pulling out a gun during an altercation after a cyclist’s bicycle hit the former policeman’s vehicle.
Gonzales said he and the cyclist went to a police station following the incident and settled their differences.
Bike enthusiast and lawyer Raymond Fortun, however, said that the cyclist was forced into an agreement admitting that the incident was his fault and was told to pay P500 for the damage to Gonzales’ car.
Police on Tuesday filed a complaint against Gonzales for alarm and scandal.
On Sunday, the Quezon City government said Fortun filed raps against three QCPD cops with the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB).
The complaints are for oppression, irregularities in the performance of duties, and incompetence under Rule 21 of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) Memorandum Circular 2016-002.
A party-list lawmaker, meanwhile, reminded the PNP to ensure that cops receive continued education and training.
Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said an inquiry held recently by the House committee on public order and safety showed that some PNP officers accused of conducting illegal drug buy-bust operations apparently lacked sufficient knowledge of police operational procedures.
On questioning the team leader who led an alleged illegal drug buy-bust operation in San Pedro, Laguna, Yamsuan learned that the former had never undergone any retraining or refresher course on police operational procedures since he entered the PNP in 2010.
“So in his 13 years in the service, he never underwent the mandatory training required of police officers. This lack of training and continuing education in the PNP is among the reasons why problems occur during police operations, why there are missteps and irregularities committed,” Yamsuan said.
Proper training would help prevent misconduct among police officers, he added.
“Don’t help our police officers after they have committed mistakes.
Help them, teach them the proper police procedures before they conduct their operations so that no one’s future would be destroyed,” Yamsuan said.