THE Cebu City Police Office will pursue the investigation and validation of accusations against 10 police officers who were accused of allegedly accepting payolas or drug protection money from big-time drug dealers.
Senior Supt. Joel Doria, CCPO chief, said the investigation would be conducted by the City Intelligence Branch and the Regional Intelligence Division.
“We have not received a formal complaint yet. Since it’s just an information given by a concerned citizen, we still have to validate the allegations,” said Doria.
He said that they would take disciplinary action and would order the dismissal of the 10 policemen from Pardo Police Station if they would be proven to be really involved in the the anomaly.
An informant reportedly implicated Senior Insp. Robert Lucernas, Pardo Police Station chief, and nine other police officers for allegedly accepting a P10,000 payola from three drug pushers.
The informant allegedly claimed that these police officers frequent the house of the drug dealers.
The informant earlier sent the information through an email he sent to Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, deputy regional director for operations, and Bobby Nalzaro, a radio broadcaster and columnist, as the Office of the Ombudsman began conducting lifestyle checks on public officials and police officers who have been linked to illegal drugs.
Lawas and Doria agreed to first have the reports validated especially since Senior Insp. Lucernas only assumed his post two months ago.