MPD arrests 3 'hulidap' cops in sting operation

The Manila Police District (MPD) arrested before dawn on Thursday three of their own colleagues, accused of being "hulidap cops," as they were trying to extort a suspected drug pusher of P50,000 on Wednesday night. Chief Inspector Marcelo Reyes, head of the MPD General Assignments Section (GAS), said while the three were his own men, he will not hesitate to file charges against them. In an interview over radio dzBB on Thursday, Reyes said the initial investigation showed the three policemen allegedly arrested a suspected drug pusher but allegedly demanded P50,000 in exchange for the suspect's freedom. The suspect's family sought help from the MPD, which arranged a sting operation. "Ang asawa at anak nagpunta sa MPD headquarters at nagreklamo," Reyes said. "Nagkataon yung pulis na humihingi [ng pera], tao ko, under sa akin kaya kinulong ko," he added. Reyes said it does not matter if the suspect was really a drug pusher or not because it was wrong of the three cops to ask for money. Hulidap “Hulidap" is a Filipino slang word coined from “huli" (arrest) and “holdup." “Hulidap policemen" conduct illegal arrests of innocent civilians with the aim of extorting money from them. Rolando Mendoza, the decorated police officer who turned hostage-taker in August last year when he took tourist bus passengers hostage in Manila, was accused of being a hulidap policeman. His alleged hulidap activity on April 9, 2008 has been well-exposed in the cyber world. Christian Kalaw, a hotel chef, who accused Mendoza and four other policemen of extorting money from him in 2008. Mendoza was later ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman. On August 23 last year, to demand for the lifting of the charges against him, Mendoza took hostage a bus with mostly Hong Kong tourists on board in Manila. The hostage drama lasted 11 hours, resulting in the death of eight tourists and Mendoza himself. - VVP, GMA News