Negros police officials deny protection racket

Two ranking police officials named by Negros Island Region (NIR) top drug suspect Ricky Serenio as among those who have been receiving protection money from the Berya drug group denied the allegations Sunday.

Serenio, considered the group’s bag man, claimed that Superintendent Maharlika Oscar Villasis, former head of Regional Special Operations Task Group (RSOTG) of Police Regional Office-18, and Senior Superintendent William Señoron, acting provincial director of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo), are included in the group’s payroll.

In his sworn statement furnished to Sun.Star Bacolod on Sunday, Serenio said that in February 2016, he was introduced by a non-commissioned officer to Villasis, whom he claimed told him to tell Berya (referring to the drug group’s alleged leader Victoria Tolentino) to give him P1 million as protection money.

They did not reach an agreement during the first meeting, claiming that Villasis rejected the P500,000 protection money offered to him, Serenio said.

However, Berya and drug supplier “Camaria” supposedly agreed to jointly provide Villasis P1 million per month to “settle the money issue.”

Serenio further claimed that Villasis told him that of the P1 million, P500,000 goes to the top official of the region.