Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez ordered dismissal proceedings against a police official in Bicol accused of extorting money from a police applicant.
The officer, assigned to the Police Regional Office 5, was arrested Thursday inside the regional police headquarters.
Nartatez said he was angered that a senior police officer and medical professional allegedly compromised the integrity of the PNP recruitment process.
He ordered an immediate investigation to determine whether the alleged extortion was part of a wider scheme.
The PNP earlier clarified that the amount allegedly demanded from the applicant was Php 50,000, not Php 38,000 as initially reported by PRO 5.
Nartatez said criminal and summary dismissal proceedings were being fast-tracked to remove the officer from service, strip him of rank, deny benefits, and bar him permanently from the PNP.
He also ordered a review of applications previously handled by the officer to check for other possible irregularities in the recruitment process.
The National Police Commission condemned the incident as a grave betrayal of public trust, saying the PNP badge should never be sold and that recruitment corruption deprives deserving applicants of fair opportunities.