Police arrested two individuals posing as employees of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) after allegedly attempting to extort money from a customer in Pasay City.

Col. Joselito De Sesto, Pasay City Police chief, identified the suspects as John, 20, of Sta. Mesa, Manila, and JR, 25, of Tondo, Manila. They were arrested at around 6:15 p.m. on Dec. 24 on 17th 2nd Street in Barangay 183, Villamor, Pasay City.

He said the victim, identified as Alfon, 55, a person with disability (PWD), reported that on Oct. 16, three men who introduced themselves as Meralco engineers demanded P50,000 in cash in exchange for allegedly altering his electric meter to reduce his electricity consumption.

The victim refused to pay the amount, which was later reduced to P20,000 and allegedly handed to one of the suspects, identified as Dave.

The victim further said that the following day, John arrived and demanded P80,000 in cash, accusing him of tampering with his electric meter. The amount was again reduced to P30,000 to supposedly settle the alleged violation.

Police said the victim added that on Dec. 22, he received a text message from an individual using the alias Paolo, who claimed to be a Meralco inspector and demanded money as “pamasko” via GCash. The victim refused and was told that the money would instead be personally collected on Dec. 24.

The victim coordinated with Barangay 183’s Bantay Bayan, which led to the arrest of the two suspects.

The suspects were detained at the Station Investigation and Detection Management Section (SIDMS) custodial facility and charged with attempted extortion and usurpation of authority.