But for the officials and cops, the website centralluzoncorruption.com now translates into fear. Some have dubbed it a “blackmail website” with its demand to drop charges against foreigners amid threat to expose more anomalies allegedly involving them.
The website, however, does not limit its heat to local officials and cops, as it also details anomalies purportedly involving some foreigners here.
Extortion activities against foreigners have reportedly been seldom since the website was born earlier this year. The website’s author has remained unknown and could not as yet be tracked by local authorities whom the internet site linked to anomalies.
An American expatriate who requested anonymity told me, however, that the anomalies tackled in the website “are largely true”. The expatriate has been doing business here for many years now.
The website zeroes in largely on alleged anomalies in this city, although some of its sections also highlight cases in other parts of the country, such as Baguio City and Nueva Ecija.
It has an article titled “Angeles City, set-up capital of the P.I.”, referring to alleged cases of framing up foreigners and extorting from them. It cited the case of Australian national Dr. Steven Soul who has fled to his country after cops allegedly set him up in an purported frustrated rape attempt on a minor.
Soul met with me and other local journalist before he flew to Australia amid his insistence he was merely framed up. The Australian embassy recently sought help of the Department of Justice in his behalf after a local woman sought to be place under the government’s witness protection program after issuing an affidavit admitting she had participated in the frame up of Soul.
One cop who was tagged by the website as allegedly one of the perpetrators of extortion operations against foreigners here recently filed libel charges against an American woman whom he suspected to be behind the website. The woman is known to have been living in this city for some years.
The policeman, who asked not to be named, denied the allegations in the website.
He also said he had evidence to prove that the American woman was behind the website. He claimed that his photo on the website was taken by the same woman during his meeting with some officials of the Angeles prosecutor’s office.
He also said that a British expert he knew was able to trace the source of the website in Hong Kong, as he noted reports that the American woman he suspected had been meeting here with some Chinese tourists who, he added, might have helped her establish the website.
The website has come out with names of both local government officials and policemen it linked to various anomalies in this city and other parts of Central Luzon.
