QUEZON CITY - Four cops have been relieved from their posts after a motorist tagged them as robbers and extortionists, the Quezon City Police Department (QCPD) said Wednesday.

PO3 Teodoro Morales, PO3 Drazen Calix, PO2 Juan de Asis Jr., and
PO1 Philip John Laylo, from the District Public Safety Battalion-Tactical Motorized Unitare (DPSB-TMU), are facing criminal and administrative complaints after a certain Rex Macabeo Jr. identified them as the cops who flagged him down and asked for cash along Commonwealth Avenue last week, QCPD acting District Director Senior Superintendent Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said.

"Macabeo was driving along Commonwealth Avenue to Fairview when a police car suddenly cut him off and forced him to stop Friday evening," Eleazar said in a statement.

The police officers refused to tell Macabeo why he was asked to stop, and suddenly searched his car and found a bolo under the rubber mat of the front passenger's seat, Eleazar said.

The police officers threatened the victim with a 12-year jail sentence for the bolo found in his car unless he settled the rap with cash, he said.

Despite Macabeo's refusal, PO3 Morales took P360 from the victim before allowing the victim to go on his way, he said.

"When Macabeo arrived home, he found out that the P31,000 hidden in his car was missing. The next day, he went to the QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) to file a complaint," Eleazar said.

The suspects are now detained at the District Headquarters Support Unit (DHSU) at Camp Karingal, Quezon City.

"This should serve as a warning to other unscrupulous policemen," Eleazar said.

The QCPD also encouraged the public to immediately report erring cops to higher officials as soon as possible.