IMEG says 47% of police officers arrested for robbery, extortion since 2017

January 30, 2020

The Philippine National Police- Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (PNP-IMEG) on Thursday said 47 percent of police officers arrested were involved in robbery and extortion since 2017.

Based on their data, from February 2017 to January 22, 2020, around 51 erring cops were arrested in IMEG's operations for robbery and extortion.

Nineteen cops were arrested for alleged illegal drugs involvement and six  nabbed for illegal gambling.

IMEG said for 2019, 50 cops were arrested which is higher than last year’s 46. 

Of the 50 arrested cops, seven were commissioned officers while 43 were non-commissioned officers.

Since 2017, most of the 89 erring cops arrested were assigned at the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

According to its spokesperson Police Captain Mae Ann Cunanan, sometimes doing illegal activities is not due to lack of money.

Cunanan attributed the high number of arrest last year on public awareness.

“The public is now aware on the existence of IMEG. They already know where to file a complaint and they are aware on the illegal activities the cops are doing,” she said.

She said they are monitoring cops who are involved in illegal gambling after they received many complaints.

To intensify their internal cleansing, IMEG established field units in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Their personnel also increased from 70 to 180.

“But there are still a lot to fill because IMEG needs almost 300 personnel,” Cunanan said. Ella Dionisio/DMS