PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar yesterday ordered a thorough investigation on the purported money-making racket of some policemen who allegedly prey on detainees who have been ordered release by the courts.
Eleazar said he ordered the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group headed by Brig. Gen. Flynn Dongbo to conduct the probe after receiving complaints about the illegal activity.
Eleazar said the complaints alleged that some cops deliberately delay the release of detainees even if courts have ordered their release after posting bail.
He said the policemen would reason out they could not yet release the detainees because they still need to check if the detainees are facing other cases.
Eleazar said the cops would later charge “board and lodging fee,” “protecting fee” and even “visitation fee” from the detainees and their relatives.
“Because of this, I ordered our Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group to conduct the investigation and operation on this. I am encouraging the public to coordinate with us to identify and penalize those policemen involved,” he said.
He also instructed police chiefs and unit commanders to immediately release detainees under their custody if they have been ordered released by the courts.
Eleazar said the order is meant not only to ensure that due process and laws are observed but to also deny the erring policemen the opportunity to take advantage of the detainees and their relatives.
Eleazar assured the PNP is not tolerating this kind of irregularity.
