Nartatez cracks whip vs kotong cops

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. reiterated his commitment Thursday to purge corrupt personnel from police ranks, ordering intensified operations against officers involved in extortion and criminal misconduct.

“We are here to protect and not to exploit our vulnerable countrymen,” Nartatez said. “There is no place in the PNP for police scalawags, particularly those police officers who extort money from the public for their own gains.”

The warning follows the arrest of a police staff sergeant implicated in an extortion scheme involving the collection of butaw, or protection fees, from jeepney drivers per trip.

Investigators also identified the arrested officer as a key suspect in the June killing of a jeepney driver at the Katihan Bridge in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa City.

Nartatez condemned the suspect’s alleged actions as a direct violation of police standards that undermines the work of honest officers.

“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,” Nartatez said.