(Eagle News) — The Manila City government has created a unit that will conduct entrapment operations against individuals who pose as traffic enforcers reportedly to extort money from motorists.
In a statement on Saturday, the Manila government said six have been arrested so far.
Benjamin Baliwag, Enrique Duque, and Kenneth Garcia were the first to be arrested.
Dennis Alcoreza, Manila Traffic Parking Bureau chief, said the three were among the 690 of his men who were fired in November last year.
He said they were “unable to reapply due to their bad records.”
On Monday, he said Jerome Miller, Mark Buzeta, and Rogelio Balatbat were also arrested after they tried to extort P5,000 from a driver of a sport utility vehicle they flagged down for a supposed speeding violation.
Alcoreza said the driver was actually an undercover MTPB traffic officer.
Found in the possession of Miller, Buzeta and Balatbat were fake tickets and cash they supposedly collected from previous victims.
“Ang nangyayari, they operate at night, mostly targeting delivery trucks and even tow trucks, still using their old uniforms, claiming they were their official escorts. They would then demand what they call ‘SOP’ or money from these drivers,” Alcoreza said of the modus operandi of the fake MTPB enforcers.
He reminded motorists that legitimate MTPB men are on duty from 6 am to 2 pm, and 2 pm to 10 pm only.
“After 10 pm, only selected traffic enforcers with verifiable mission orders are allowed to operate but only on special occasions,” he explained.
He said if an MTPB enforcer flags a motorist down in Manila past 10 pm, “demand a mission order and ID.”
“When they can’t present any, they’re fake. Call for help,” Alcoreza said.
