BY CHITO CHAVEZ
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Friday that the Philippine National Police-Crime Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) arrested two extortionists who posed as DILG officials in Pangasinan.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año identified the suspects as Natilyn Decipulo, 29, a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW); and Richard Tacto, 45, who used the name of DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya to extort money from unsuspecting mayors and governors.
They were arrested by CIDG operatives on December 2 in Dagupan City.
“The long arm of the law finally caught up with them, at gaya nga ng sinabi natin, we will bring these people to justice lalo pa at pangalan ng mga opisyal ng DILG ang kanilang ginagamit sa kanilang modus. Let this serve as a warning to all would-be criminals, we will find you wherever you maybe,” Año said.
“A manhunt is currently underway to find the other members of this criminal syndicate named the “Decipulo criminal group,” he added.
The DILG chief noted the modus operandi of the Decipulo Group is to introduce themselves as DILG employees working under Malaya and “solicit” money from local chief executives (LCEs) in exchange allegedly for fixing the pending administrative cases filed against them.
“Another modus is the poseur tells the mayor or governor that the DILG will donate cavans of rice to be distributed to their constituents who were affected by recent calamities and in exchange, the LCE has to send money for the cargo or delivery expenses of the supposed donation,’’ he added.
In both instances, the DILG said the victims are asked to deposit the money to a remittance center or to a bank account of their choosing.
Año revealed that the police investigations later revealed that the Decipulo Group was behind at least 20 extortion activities victimizing governors or mayors in Luzon, Visayas, Caraga Region, and BARMM.
He added “the PNP CIDG finally caught up with Decipulo when she (Decipulo) was arrested during an entrapment operation while claiming the P72,000 that she extorted from Mayor Gerandy B. Danao of the municipality of Narra, Palawan in a remittance center in the city.”
