2 men involved in extortion racket using First Lady's name collared in Parañaque City

A suspect, who was out on bail after he was arrested for being engaged in an extortion racket that used the name of First Lady Liza Louise Araneta Marcos, was collared by the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) for the unauthorized use of blinkers in Paranaque City last June 13.

- By AARON RECUENCO

A search of the vehicle Joselito Agtuca was driving also yielded a gun and a plastic explosive.

But what proved to be the major catch for the PNP-HPG was that Agtuca was in the company of JJ Café Javier, who has been posing as an undersecretary at the Office of the President (OP) while claiming to be a relative of the First Lady.

Ambassador Markus Lacanilao, special envoy for Transnational Crime, narrated that Agtuca was among the three people arrested in Pasay City in March last year after an entrapment operation wherein they were demanding P5 million from a businessman who was threatened that his emission testing business would be shut down if he would not pay up.