CAMPAIGN VS. EXTORTION LAUNCHED

The Northern Police District Office is cracking down on policemen releasing
arrested suspects in exchange for cash.

Chief Supt. Marcelino Franco Jr., NPDO director, admitted that some
policemen were also planting evidence, usually illegal drugs, to extort
money from innocent people in the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela area.

"Some misguided elements in the police force have become somewhat creative,
exploiting certain weaknesses in the system. We want this extortion racket
stopped once and for all," Franco said.

The practice is called pagbabang-keta, where people arrested were released
as soon as they reach a deal with the police.

Franco said he has instituted a system to monitor the conduct of policemen,
especially those tasked in going after illegal drug syndicates, to prevent
the practice.

The police, he added, have already mapped out strategies to unmask and
arrest erring policemen. The crackdown has the backing of Deputy Director
General Edgar Aglipay, Franco said. -- Eric Estrada, Correspondent