A RESHUFFLE of police personnel manning control checkpoints in the province was recently effected by the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPPO) to prevent a possible repeat of the discovered extortion activities involving a policeman at the Barangay Pantol border checkpoint in Bayambang town.

P/Col. Richmond Tadina, PPPO director, said the reshuffling will prevent police officers at the checkpoints to be too familiar with motorists and residents in the area and will ensure strict enforcement of minimum health standards and protocols.

It will be recalled that members of the anti-scalawag unit of the Philippine National Police arrested a police officer after he was caught in an entrapment operation in the barangay on December 8 in cahoots with barangay officials.

Arrested by the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group was P/Cpl. Danile Penuliar of the Bayambang municipal police.

Penuliar was arrested in Barangay Pantol after receiving marked money from a police operative who posed as a motorist flagged down by the suspect while passing the village axis road.

The suspect’s modus operandi was to ask motorists unable to present vaccination card and S-PASS confirmation to pay P500 in exchange for hassle-free entry to the province.

Tadina said the chief of the Bayambang police was administratively relieved over the incident to give way to an impartial investigation.

Tadina pointed out that valid vaccination cards will still be required to be presented at the border checkpoints and the Safe, Swift, Smart Passage (S-PaSS) is no longer required but travelers may still need to undergo health and exposure screening at the border checkpoints

Also in his Executive Order 0178 issued on November 18 by Governor Amado Espino III, the local government unit (LGU) of the traveler’s destination may impose added restrictions on travelers subject to the towns’ quarantine classifications; and only persons with valid vaccination card can be excused from any testing that would be required by the destination LGU.

Travelers from areas under granular lockdown (Alert Level 5) or enhanced community quarantine, and modified enhanced community quarantine will be denied entry to Pangasinan, except for authorized persons outside of residence (APORs) carrying valid authority to travel and/or travel order, Tadina said. (Jerick Pasiliao)

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments