9 SAF men under PNP custody

Over POGO escort case

MANILA, Philippines — The two Special Action Force (SAF) troopers along with their seven superiors who were implicated in unauthorized escort services to Chinese nationals have been placed under restrictive custody, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

PNP chief information officer Col. Jean Fajardo said the two SAF commandos who were caught moonlighting as security escorts of Chinese nationals in Muntinlupa were put under restrictive custody after the city prosecutor’s office ordered them released for further investigation.

The police officers will undergo preliminary investigation on charges of alarm and scandal after they figured in a fistfight allegedly at the house of a Chinese national, said to be an official of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) firm, in Ayala Alabang village.

“They are under restrictive custody while their case is being heard,” Fajardo said in a news briefing.

The policemen were brought to the SAF headquarters at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.

The lawmen’s superior officers in Zamboanga, the highest-ranked of whom is a lieutenant colonel, were also placed under restrictive custody while facing administrative cases.

SAF troopers reportedly receive P40,000 monthly salary as POGO bodyguards, with half going to their superior in the SAF. — Emmanuel Tupas