Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police General Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. has reiterated the command’s commitment to purge corrupt personnel from the police force, issuing a stern warning to officers engaging in extortion and criminal operations.
“We are here to protect and not to exploit our vulnerable kababayans. There is no place in the PNP for police scalawags, particularly those police officers who extort money from the public for their own gains,” Nartatez said in a statement.
The PNP Chief issued the warning following the arrest of a Police Staff Sergeant implicated in a systematic extortion scheme collecting butaw (protection fees) from jeepney drivers.
Investigators also linked the suspect to the June shooting of a jeepney driver at Katihan Bridge in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa City.
Nartatez condemned the suspect’s actions, describing extortion activities as a direct assault on the integrity of law enforcement and an insult to legitimate police officers performing their duties honorably.
“These police officers are nothing but a disgrace to the organization as they tarnish the image of the entire force, damaging the reputation of the good men and women of the PNP,” he noted.
To counter systemic corruption, the PNP leadership is reviewing standard reporting channels to make it easier and safer for citizens to report police misconduct, abuses and illegal collections.
Nartatez assured that command-led entrapment operations will continue alongside formal administrative and criminal proceedings to ensure erring officers face immediate discharge and prosecution.
“The Philippine National Police continues to intensify its entrapment operations against kotong cops, and we are determined to file criminal and administrative charges against them, aside from weeding them out of our ranks,” Nartatez stated.