ORANI, Bataan – Six people posing as journalists and another one posing as a DILG official, were arrested by the Orani Municipal Police Station after trying to extort money from a peryahan (funfare) in this town last Saturday.
The arrested suspects were identified by the police as a 61-year-old Cynthia Gabinay, while her two cohorts Rowena Banihit and Maria Victoria Villegas fled the scene.
The report stated that the three went to Barangay Mulawin village chief, Marvin Dela Cruz, with Gabinay wearing jacket with DILG logo, to complain about what she said “illegal gambling activities” inside the peryahan.
Dela Cruz doubted the suspects and asked them to present a valid DILG identification and mission order for their supposed monitoring of the gambling activities in the provinces. When they failed to present such documents, they were ordered to be arrested and sent to the police station.
When the police asked the operator of the peryahan, Ms Noemi Guanzon, the latter said that the suspects already went there and extorted P300 from them.
“Palagi ‘yan nagpupunta sa amin marami sila halos araw araw, minsan nga kahit umuulan at nagsara na kami at walang kita kakatukin pa rin kami ng mga iyan. Hindi sila umaalis hangga’t hindi nabibigyan ng pera,” Miss Guanzon lamented.
The suspects denied the accusation at the precinct, but when frisked, various IDs from unknown or fly-by-night newspapers were seen.Gabinay will be charged with extortion and usurpation of authority.
Meanwhile, in a follow-up operation conducted by the Orani police and the Mulawin Barangay Watchmen, six other fake newsmen were arrested.The suspects were identified as Benny Billones, Myrna Gomez, Raldy Abano, Reynalod Gomez, Dolores Morado Quides and one minor, all residents of Antipolo City.
According to Guanzon, the six suspects tried to extort money from them and would not leave unless they were given “gas money”. That was when the authorities conducted the entrapment wherein a staff of Guanzon took video of the suspects accepting the marked money.
The suspects were taken to the Orani municipal police station for charges pertaining to their crime.