CAGAYAN – A member of the Echague municipal police station in Isabela was arrested by operatives of the Police Regional Office 2 (PRO-2) after he was caught red-handed trying to extort money from a woman in exchange for dropping of charges against her.
PRO-2 reported the arrest of Master Sgt. Arthur Coloma Salvador, 47, who was assigned to the Echague Police Station, and a resident of Alicia, Isabela.
He was nabbed by PRO-2 operatives at the parking lot of a mall in Santiago City last December 3 while trying to extort money from complainant Nimfa Remegio.
Salvador had allegedly asked P1.2 million from Remegio in exchange for the dropping of several cases that were filed against her.
“While we are focusing our efforts on our anti-illegal drugs and anti-criminality operations, we are not setting aside our responsibility of cleansing our ranks from scalawags. This should send the clear message that we do not condone the wrongdoings of anybody, even those of our own,” said PRO-2 Director Brig. Gen. Crizaldo Nieves.
A charge of robbery with extortion will be levelled against the suspect, who had in his possession the P1.2-million he extorted from Remegio when he was arrested.
“It is sad that after several months of having a clean slate on cases involving policemen in the region, one of our personnel was allegedly caught in an illegal transaction and this we have to investigate,” Nieves said.
He also reminded the police that “as public servants, we should always set a good example to society”.