Cops robbing Binondo traders arrested
By Nestor Etolle Thursday, October 30, 2008
A dismissed policeman and his AWOL (absence without official leave) colleague, allegedly responsible for robbing Filipino-Chinese traders in Binondo, were finally arrested Tuesday by intelligence operatives of the Manila Police District.
Intelligence chief Superintendent Leo Francisco identified the suspects as Police Officer 3 Joey Ricardo, a dismissed policeman, and PO2 Faustino Centeno, of the MPD’s District Mobile Force who had recently gone on AWOL since Oct. 10.
The District Police Intelligence and Operations Unit has received numerous reports that two persons wearing police uniforms are allegedly involved in a series of robbery-holdup victimizing mostly Filipino-Chinese businessmen riding on taxis or tricycles in Binondo and Divisoria areas, Francisco told The STAR.
The suspects are reportedly riding in tandem on a green colored motorcycle without license plate, he added.
On Tuesday afternoon while DPIOU operatives were conducting covert operations on areas identified as bases of the suspects, a pedicab driver reported a robbery incident along Soler street in Binondo where an unidentified Chinese couple was held up by two persons in police uniform and riding in tandem on a green motorcycle with no license plate, according to DPIOU head Chief Inspector Audie Madrideo.
Acting on the complaint, Madrideo instructed his men to scour the area on board their police-marked vehicle where the witness positively identified two policemen on board a motorcycle on stop on a traffic light.
Senior Inspector Dennis Rodriguez, Inspector Bernard Pagaduan and PO3 Delfin Silva cautiously approached the duo, introduced themselves and asked for their identification. Centeno reportedly tried to draw his .45 caliber pistol but the DPIOU operatives quickly disarmed him.
At the police headquarters, Centeno’s firearm was found to have no license and he has no permit to carry firearm outside residence. Madrideo is calling on robbery-holdup victims to identify the suspects who are presently detained at the MPD’s integrated jail.
Charges of usurpation of authority or official function, illegal use of uniform and insignia and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition were initially filed against the two suspects.
Retrieved from Philippine Star Online, October 30,2008
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Metro&p=49&type=2&sec=26&aid=20081029115#top
Actually, my mom got a chance to see this incident because it was near our place. She said that it was truly policemen and they really robbed Filipino-Chinese businessmen. Through this incident, I came to my senses that the police aren't doing their job properly and instead of making people follow the rules and the law, they are the ones who breaks it and keeps on doing bad things to their fellow countrymen.
I think it is time that we recognize such incident to happen even more oftenly to other people because they know that they can't be caught by the police because they are the police. What's bad about this is that we can't live our lives with ease because the ones whom we trust to protect us are the ones who destroys us.
This should not be tolerated and should be stop at once. I think the police should learn from this incident and start changing their bad ways into good. For me, places aside from Binondo should be scouted also because we never know where the police will do that next. This is certainly another shameful incident made by our policemen. What's wrong with the police anyway, first is the De La Paz incident, and now this, aren't you ashamed for what you have done??
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14 comments:
what a shame for those policemen. It's really sad to know when people have some people, they tend to abuse it. The abuse of power is so rampant that almost every government official does it. Our society seems to lose basic respect, integrity and dignity, it has already evolved into some sort of "power play".
This is one of the reasons why the Philippines is not fully improving. Even government officials are doing crimes. Filipinos are helpless, they cannot fight against these policemen because, obviously, they are more powerful than any ordinary man. These filipinos are scared to fight because they are afraid that these policemen would harm them and put their families lives to danger.
This kind of act should be stopped at once, but how? No one would dare stand up against these men.
it's really a big shame for the policemen since they are the ones who should get those who rob but then they are the ones who's doing it. Why do people target Chi-fil or those people having a chi blood? whats with chinese? i just feel sorry for our country for having these kinds of leaders. other leaders should learn from this and not be pathetic since we are all affected...
nakakahiya talaga para sa mga pulis na yun yung ginawa nila kasi kung iisipin sila pa dapat yung nagiging model para hindi gumawa ng masama. i think inaabuse lang nila yung power nila para makapasok sa ganitong activity kasi syempre pinagkakatiwalaan natin mga policemen pero sinira lang nila yung pangalan nila.
One word, Nakakahiya. Another shame to the Philippine police is born. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Really, I can see the irony of it. The people who should protect us are the ones who harm us. This shows how the policemen are poorly trained and selected. But it’s good that we know this rather than the police hiding this shame. At least we can be careful the next time we ask for a policeman’s help.
The bad thing about this is that even if 95% of PNP is righteous, the 5% are the ones who are magnified and stereotyped. I can’t blame the media since the rotten attributes of an organization is more interesting than the good side.
I suggest that the PNP should really screen their police offers before giving them the power to enforce the law. The PNP should be approached by the people in need and not avoided but in order for us to trust them again, they should straighten their act.
those kind of policemen are common nowadays, most of them are corrupt that's the reason why people now are not giving them any respect. they are the ones who must protect the citizen and yet they are the one stealing form us. the government should take an action to this, because when all policemen became corrupt many people will migrate and find security other country that can give more problem to the country.
Policemen are supposed to be our protectors, how can the community trust these men if their reputations are already tainted? but i do feel sorry for the police officials who are doing their jobs decently, because even if they are working their hearts out, their efforts wouldn't be appreciated much because of news as such. i believe that policemen would have a hard time trying to get back the trusts of the citizens that were lost. and why do criminals keep on targeting chinese or fil-chinese? of course the citizen are helpless especially if the suspects are powerful.
Actually I had an experience of this. I was "robbed" by policemen who were holding a machine gun and attired a swat clothes. It happened at Taft ave. beneath vito cruz station at 3~4am. I was going home after I finished playing game at internet cafe. When I was passing the vito cruz station, they suddenly called me and asked for my ID. I gave them my high school ID because I was on leave. They also ask me that what time is it. And they told me if I give them money, they would let me go. I was so amazed that how can the policemen could do such act.
In order to eliminate this kind of crime, namely corruption or abuse of public power, public service personnel's mind should be changed. They actually don't care about the country but their own benefit. If officials only care about their own benefit continually, then the Philippines will not have opportunities to become developed country.
This is one of the reasons why policemen are loosing their own credibility. I'm not generalizing the entire PNP group, but its the responsibility of the higher ranking officials to have a background check of their members. These kinds of crimes committed by the law enforcers themselves should be given heavier punishment because they should be the one enforcing the law and not violating it. They should set a good example to the public. They should also be trust-worthy enough to ensure the safety of normal citizens.
Regarding the article, its good that the 2 were caught and they could no longer continue their wrong doings. One more thing about this article is that it created the awareness about this kind of modus operandi.
undeniably, it is tragic that our society cant even trust the law enforcers and those who are suppose to protect us. when around policemen, we should feel safe, protected, and unharmed, not the opposite. its a shame that our economy has gone so bad that people resort to such grave actions just to get through. although we've always been aware of the secret, criminal lives of policemen, we just dont do anything about it because a percentage of them still did their jobs with dignity. but what about now that people are opting for more drastic measures?
How could we ever trust the police after this incident? How could we call the police for help if they are the ones who are behind these crimes. I think the government should closely monitor the activities of the police because apparently, some of them are turning bad. Also, they should implement more thorough screening for police applicants.
The policeman should be ashamed of himself. This news actually makes you feel not safe anymore. I mean there are a lot of criminals out there, and you know that the police would always protect you from these criminals.But now that the police are also involve in this kind of stuff, it makes you wonder who are the good guys are. Now you would never know if the police are also involve in crimes. Its not because they are police officers that people shouldn't stand up against them. They abuse their power so its just right for them to be punish.
This is bad. The force that is giving us security and making us feel comfortable walking on public areas are the ones causing harm. Where will we complain if the people who protect us are the one responsible for the crime? Well in the first place i doubt the credibility of the policemen here in our country. Do you still feel secured when you see a policeman? or do you get conscious if you are doing something wrong? The way we look at them really has changed.
Good job by the Manila Police district. I hate it when policemen abuse their power and get money from hard working people. These policemen haven’t even been on the workforce for more than a month. Police departments should be more careful in choosing its police officers to prevent incidents like this from happening again. There are so many policemen out there who have a tendency to do something like this and they should be removed from the force immediately. Their uniforms should be confiscated too.
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