COPS IN CAHOOTs WITH PUSHERS?
SOME drug pushers in barangay Calamba, Cebu City, have reportedly gone out of business because of the “payola” or grease money they have to pay to crooked policemen.
Chief Insp. Romeo Santander, chief of the City Intelligence Branch (CIB,) said this information was relayed to him by Calamba barangay captain Victor Quijano. Quijano did not identify the policemen though.
He also said some personnel from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency were involved in the protection racket.
Santander said a probe would be conducted once Quijano gives names of law enforcers who are on the take./CORRESPONDENT CHITO O. ARAGON
‘NO MORE SWINDLERS AT AIRPORT’
THE new Bureau of Customs (BOC) Cebu port collector said that tourists won’t be swindled again by inspectors who claim to have “lost” their passports.
Paul Alcazarin made a courtesy call yesterday on Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol.
He told reporters he was unaware of the details of the previous complaint of the governor about South Koreans who were swindled at the Mactan Cebu International Aiport, but Alcazarin said he was instituting reforms in his office so it won’t happen again.
Last month, Garcia voiced alarm over complaints from the Korean Travel Agency Association that two South Koreans were victimized upon arrival at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
The tourists were asked to pay customs duties and to hand over their passports.
When they returned, the passports were declared “lost” and the tourists were called up a few days later and told the passports were “found” and would be returned, with the expectation of a reward or pahalipay.
Governor Garcia, who asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) earlier to look into the matter, yesterday said the inquiry was finished and a case was filed against the perpetrators with the Office of the Ombudsman.
“What I asked of him (Alcazarin) was that incidents such as these, which leave a black mark on the image of Cebu, should not happen again,” said Garcia. “It’s up to him to institute measures.”
Customs officials later said the tourists were dealing with swindlers posing as customs inspectors.
The South Korean tourists were identified as 32-year-old Gunho Im and Mana Tour and Travel tour guide Ee Kyung Hun.
The agency sought the aid of the governor, who said this was the work of scam artists. Two similar incidents involving South Koreans also occurred inside the airport./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus