MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced Friday, August 4, they are investigating 1,122 cops for being involved in illegal activities.

Their source for tips? Text messages.

The PNP text hotline was launched in January 2017 and has since received 7,000 short message service (SMS) messages that have led to the arrest of 41 cops and 15 civilians.

Of the 1,122 accused, 249 are commissioned and 873 are non-commissioned officers. (READ: LGUs, PNP have most corruption cases – Ombudsman)

Most of the arrested were caught engaging in extortion and have been investigated and pursued by the PNP Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF). 

CITF chief Senior Superintendent Chiquito Malayo said 641 personnel were accused of engaging in the following: protecting illegal activities, involvement in the drug trade, and extortion.

On top of the 1,122 investigated, subject to ongoing thorough validation, are SMS reports that named 385 personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office, 147 from Calabarzon police, and 141 from Central Luzon police.

Complaints can be sent through the following lines:

• 09986702286  
• 09957958569

Aside from their phone inboxes, the PNP has also opened up wooden boxes for tips on drug suspects in Barangay Valencia, Quezon City. (READ: Witnesses name Manila policeman behind drug-related summary killings)

Nobody has dropped a single tip, however, out of fear of being seen reporting, thus they resort to text messages instead. – Rappler.com