By MARTIN SADONGDONG
Police General Oscar Albayalde, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, has ordered the immediate relief of three key officers of the Police Regional Office 12 (PRO-12) after they were linked to a P2-billion investment scam that allegedly victimized cops.
Ordered relieved were Police Colonel Manuel Lukban Jr., PRO-12 regional directorial staff; Police Colonel Raul Supiter, director of the General Santos City Police Office; and Police Lieutenant Colonel Henry Binas, also of PRO-12.
“Likewise, I have directed the PRO-12 under Police Brigadier General Eli (Eliseo) Rasco to expedite the investigation of those involved in the investment scam that has victimized many personnel in the region,” Albayalde said.
According to Albayalde, he received a report that police officers in PRO-12 were victimized by the so-called Police Paluwagan Movement (PPM) allegedly operated by the relieved cops in connivance with several other PNP personnel in the region.
Aside from cops, also supposedly victimized were prosecutors, judges, entrepreneurs and civilians.
The PPM allegedly offered the victims a 60-percent interest rate for their investment within 15 days.
However, after a few months, the victims could no longer encash the checks issued to them due to insufficiency of funds.
According to the report received by Albayalde, the PPM has been operating right inside the Camp Fermin Lira in General Santos City Police Office.
However, Supiter has denied his involvement in the scam, saying he does not know that such investment scheme exists inside the General Santos police camp.
Rasco, for his part, admitted that he already received reports that some of the cops in the region fell prey to the PPM scam since late 2018.
Rasco said he advised the cops that if an investment offer is too good to be true, they should think twice before putting in their hard-earned money because more often than not, it is a scam.
Rasco vowed to get to the bottom of the case and punish the cops that have committed an offense.
Albayalde ordered the placement of the relieved cops under the restrictive custody of the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (PHAU) of the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (PNP-DPRM) in Camp Crame, Quezon City pending an investigation.
He assured the relieved cops that they will be given due process.
However, if proven that they have committed a grave offense, Albayalde vowed that they will face the full force of the law.
