InterAksyon.com
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MANILA - Newly installed head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina on Wednesday ordered dismissed from the service Senior Police Officer 4 Jose dela Pena, the Quezon City cop accused of extorting P20,000 from his son.
Interestingly, dela Pena was being dismissed from a 2009 case where he allegedly illegally searched the car of the son of another general, now-retired General Celso Castro.
On November 7 that year, dela Pena and four other policemen flagged down the car driven by Castro's son at the corner of Betty Go Belmonte and Dama de Noche Streets in Barangay Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City, Espina said.
Dela Pena asked for the man's driver's license, opened the door of the passenger seat, and dipped his hands inside the pouch of the car. He also allegedly directed his four companions to search "extensively" the car's interior by opening the backseat doors and searching underneath the car seats.
The search was done without a warrant or a legal basis, Espina said.
Dela Pena also allegedly drove alone using the car of Castro's son while the latter was in a police patrol car.
Aside from dela Pena, also dismissed were PO3 Rodolfo De Jesus, PO3 Carlos Bromeo, PO2 Crodel De Jose, and PO2 Dionel Rosario for two counts of grave misconduct and two counts of serious irregularity in the performance of duty. The dismissal is effective Wednesday,
September 12.
With his dismissal, dela Pena will forfeit all his benefits, including his retirement and pension benefits amounting to millions of pesos. He will also be disqualified for re-employment in the police service.
Espina, however, insisted that dela Pena's dismissal has nothing to do with the incident involving his son. Espina's son was also a victim of dela Pena, who allegedly demanded P20,000 from him over false accusations of engaging in phone sex. Dela Pena is facing robbery, extortion, threat, and harassment charges.
Despite being dismissed, dela Pena still has to face all the charges against him, Espina said.
The police official said the move was part of his efforts to cleanse the ranks of policemen in Metro Manila. Aside from dela Pena and the four other policemen, also facing dismissal are:
Meanwhile, Espina also ordered the inventory of all policemen with pending major cases and directed commanders to resolve these cases within 30 days.
“Everybody should behave under my command,” Espina said.
He urged the public to contact the NCRPO Text Action Center hotline at 0999-901-8181 for any complaints.
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