Cebu, Philippines — A group of businessmen and a barangay captain are set to file administrative and criminal complaints against several police officers assigned in Cebu after they allegedly fell victim to a fraudulent vehicle-selling scheme involving millions of pesos.
According to the complainants’ lawyer, Atty. Julius Gregory Delgado, they have already filed the appropriate administrative complaint against several officials and personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP). The officers allegedly encouraged the complainants to purchase brand-new vehicles at significantly discounted prices.
Based on the complaint, the police officers allegedly claimed they had special vehicle allocations from authorized dealerships, giving them access to brand-new units at discounted rates. Believing these representations, the complainants reportedly paid the full amount for the vehicles they ordered.
However, Delgado said that some of the vehicles were never delivered despite being fully paid. He added that several units that were turned over to the complainants were later discovered to have been mortgaged to banks or registered under other individuals.
According to documents and evidence presented by the complainants’ camp, the transactions were conducted through Viber, Facebook Messenger, and other online platforms. The payments were also allegedly coursed through third parties instead of being received directly by the police officers involved.
One of the complainants, Ronald Yap Elpa, a businessman from Cebu, said he decided to purchase vehicles after seeing that some of his acquaintances had successfully acquired units through the same group.
Elpa said the transactions began in August 2025. Among the vehicles he ordered were a Mitsubishi Montero and a 2025 Nissan Patrol. Although a pickup truck and a Nissan Terra were delivered to him, he refused to accept them after allegedly discovering issues regarding their ownership and mortgage status. He added that, to date, he has yet to receive several of the units he had already paid for.
Elpa also said that three to four other alleged victims are preparing to file similar complaints against the police officers involved.
Another complainant, Jude Quirante Chan, said he was persuaded to purchase a vehicle because of the promised special allocation and substantial discount. He said his first Toyota Hilux was delivered, but he later discovered that it had allegedly been mortgaged to a bank and registered under another person’s name.
Chan added that after receiving the first vehicle, he placed another order for a Toyota Land Cruiser. However, despite allegedly paying for the unit in full, the second vehicle was never delivered.
Meanwhile, Barangay Captain Baby Baguio Villaspin said he was encouraged to acquire a vehicle after the wife of a police colonel allegedly convinced his to use it as a rental vehicle for police personnel.
Villaspin said he paid ₱130,000 in cash as part of the down payment, while another ₱130,000 was reportedly covered by a check issued by the other party. He said payment issues later arose, and in September of last year, the vehicle was taken from his residence in Cordova, Cebu. He added that he still does not know where the vehicle is.
According to the complainants, they were convinced to proceed with the transactions because those involved were police officers who claimed to have connections with authorized dealerships. They said a Nissan Patrol was reportedly offered for around ₱3.8 million instead of its regular price of nearly ₱4.8 million, while a Mitsubishi Montero was offered for around ₱1.1 million, significantly lower than its original price of about ₱1.5 million.
For its part, the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), through Atty. Rafael Vicente R. Calinisan, said that an ordinary police officer has no authority or official capacity to secure vehicle reservations or special allocations from authorized dealerships.
Calinisan said the police officers named in the complaint would be in the best position to explain how they allegedly obtained the supposed reservations and discounted vehicle prices.
He added that this was the first time he had encountered this type of alleged scheme involving police officers and said that NAPOLCOM would coordinate with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) regarding the matter.
Among those named in the complaint are several members of the PNP, including Police Lieutenant Colonel Bernoulli Abalos, along with four other police officers.
The police officers named in the complaint have yet to issue an official statement regarding the allegations against them.—Angel Aldo, Contributor