Actor Patrick Garcia to file extortion charges against police

Young actor Patrick Garcia has decided to file charges against policemen who tried to extort P20,000 ($ 363) from him while he and three other friends were apprehended but were not charged with any wrongdoing in suburban Quezon City last Wednesday.

"I wanted to clear my name because several stories that appeared on several tabloids claimed I have been involved in drugs," said Garcia.

Garcia said he was about to bring home a friend, Andrew Lopez, on West Avenue, when he decided to return a cell phone of Allen Flordeliz, which was left with him for repair.

Allen was asleep when they got to his house on Visayas Avenue, so they headed to West Triangle, where a police car with policemen in plain chlothes, blocked his car.

"They pointed a gun at the car and made us get down. They searched us but did not find anything incriminating. At that time, Sam, a friend of Allen, saw the commotion and rushed to Allen's home. They ran to our rescue but found us in the police car. They were also ordered to join us and we were all taken to a precinct nearby in Visayas Avenue," he said.

"They confiscated my cell phone. Then one of the interrogators said I should produce P20,000 to speed up our release," he said, adding he gave in and withdrew money from the nearest ATM centre. At that time he was allowed to drive his car but a policeman remained in the backseat.

Initially, he gave P5,000, but requested for the release of his friends. "The policeman said there were many of them who would divide the loot. So I asked for my cell phone and called a friend and told him of my problem. By that time, the policeman grabbed the phone. I slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car. As the policeman followed me, he dropped his own phone. When he pulled out his gun, I shouted, 'Holdup! Holdup!' to attract the attention of passers-by. The policeman fired a shot in the air," Garcia recalled.

He was subdued and brought back to the police station where his friends were still detained.

At the station, one police commander admitted that his colleagues had done wrong. "But when he asked what he wanted me to do with the money, I told him, 'Keep it,' which he did. We were all eventually released, although at that time, the other policemen claimed that my two other friends were suspected drug users," said Garcia.