Four policemen from the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group or PNP AVSEGROUP have been sacked and are under investigation in connection with the laglag bala modus operandi.
This was after missionary Lane Michael White, victim of the tanim-bala modus operandi, positively identified them as the police officers who allegedly tried to extort Php30,000 from him, said ABS-CBN News.
Officers fired from posts and returned to HQ
Officers SPO1 Rolando Clarin, SPO2 Romy Navarro, Chief Insp. Adriano Junio, and Chief Insp. Eugene Juaneza were removed from their posts at the airport and transferred back to headquarters for investigation.
Reports said that 20-year-old White pointed to SPO2 Clarin, SPO2 Navarro and Chief Insp. Junio as the cops who reportedly told him that if he gave them Php30,000, they would not file charges against him for the bullet they found in his luggage.
He made his statement before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
.22 caliber found in White’s bag
White was supposed to go on a trip to Coron, Palawan with his father and stepmother last September 17, but was stopped at the airport after they found a .22 caliber bullet in his bag.
He repeatedly denied allegations that he was transporting ammunition in his luggage, and chose to go through due process instead of paying up.
Other fired officers
The airport personnel who handled his bag, Maria Celema and Marvin Garcia, have been sacked as well. Watch the video of how they handled White’s bag below:
According to ABS-CBN News, police personnel PO3 Careen de Padua and PO1 Rommel Ballesteros were previously fired from their duties at the airport after they bungled evidence submitted to the fiscal’s office. The bullet they brought in for evidence was different from the bullet allegedly found in OFW Gloria Ortinez’s case.
Sr. Supt. Ricardo Layug Jr., head of the PNP AVSEGROUP was also sacked for the incidents that happened under his watch.
Read: What to do to prevent ‘laglag bala’
We’re really glad that some people are being held accountable for the horrid laglag-bala incidents at our airports. Do you feel better about the issue now, mommies?
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