Cebu Police Officers Accused in Multi-Million Peso Car Scams

MANILA, Philippines — Several individuals from Cebu have accused some police officers of victimizing them in car scams. The complainants filed an administrative case against the implicated officers before the National Police Commission (Napolcom) at the latter’s office in Quezon City on Tuesday, July 21. In a press briefing after the filing, one of the complainants, businessman Ronald Elpa, alleged purchasing several vehicles from the group of police officers last August. READ: Motorists warned vs scams from messages on traffic violation fines “They first bring up the relationship, that they’re friends, acquaintances… They said they had special discounts,” Elpa told reporters. “There were some vehicles that they delivered, some that they didn’t… Until now, they haven’t given us the documents,” he added. Also at the briefing, co-complainant Baby Villaspin claimed he and a police colonel agreed to evenly split a P260,000 downpayment to purchase a vehicle from the same group. However, according to Villaspin, the police colonel’s check “bounced,” which meant the bank could not process it, forcing Villaspin to cover the entire P260,000. He further claimed that the vehicle was later taken from his residence and has not been returned despite repeated assurances. At the presser, Napolcom Commissioner Rafael Calinisan said the commission will conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations. “We’ll be looking at whether there is a connection between these allegations, if there is a larger scheme or a syndicate behind this. We really have to dive deep and check,” Calinisan said. — Written by Rendell Ivan Manuel, INQUIRER.net trainee /mr