'Closed issue': Gamboa defends Sinas over mañanita, attempted eviction
MANILA, Philippines — The birthday "mañanita" held by Police Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas, Metro Manila police director, is a "closed issue," while his eviction attempt of a family in Taguig is completely justified and was not wrong either, the chief of the national police said on Wednesday.
Speaking in an interview with ANC, Police Gen. Archie Gamboa defended the eviction attempt by elements of the National Capital Regional Police Office on a family in Taguig, videos of which have since gone viral on social media and shows cops destroying a barricade in the family's yard, and later, the family being screamed at by no less than Sinas himself.
"What's coming out is that the family has the right over that land. They don't have. It is government property and it is even a government structure. That's probably what people don't understand, which is why they bash Gen. Sinas...How can we be wrong when we just want to impose our right also in possessing our own land, our own building?" the country's top cop said.
"I stand on what occurred there, that it was just rightful to impose what is ours."
When Sinas held a birthday buffet with over ten of his men despite also enforcing an enhanced community quarantine, he effectively broke the same statutes that Metro Manila police have used to justify the arrests of protesters.
After all, holding mass gatherings is against the quarantine protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
As it stands, the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, the arm constituting the government's quarantine enforcer-agencies, is gearing up for intensified enforcement on the barangay level in the wake of what it calls "stubborn" barangay folk who need to "face the consequences of their complacency or hardheadedness."
READ: COVID-19 task force readies deployment of 'police supervisors' vs 'stubborn' barangay folk
This is not the first time the country's police chief defended his general.
Despite having photographs from the event showing the attendees crowding around a buffet table without face masks, Gamboa in May said: "I don't think there's a violation here." Sinas for his part issued an apology that denied the event even happened.
What do the PNP's own rules say?
According to Section 6 of the PNP’s Chief of Police manual, which touches on the doctrine of command responsibility, “chiefs of Police shall also be held responsible for every breach of discipline, lapse in security, abuse of authority or violation of human rights or law committed by the men under them.”
In a situation where a Police Commissioned Officer of a higher echelon is present in the area and has a knowledge of a misconduct or its imminent act but fails to take appropriate action, he is administratively liable and accountable for the said misdemeanor or unlawful act.
Ethical standards that officers of the law are expected to adhere to include a commitment to democracy, public service, non-partisanship, and respect for human rights. The agency's doctrine is a public document that anyone can access.
What does the law say?
Under government guidelines, demolitions of informal settlers' homes need prior planning by the local government unit, which will include a census and physical survey of the area where people will be relocated from. The community must also be given advance notice of the planned relocation and an explanation of why it is necessary.
Republic Act No. 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act mandates the "presence of local government officials or their representatives during eviction or demolition."
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 2020-068 also directs local governments to postpone demolition and eviction activities and to "provide interim shelter facilities for affected communities who will be demolished within the locality and finally provide appropriate financial assistance, relief, and other basic services."
The national police is an attached agency under the interior department.
PNP chief: Video 'speaks a thousand words'
At a press briefing earlier, Gamboa promised that the agency would look into the incident, though he was careful to point out that the family's patriarch had already retired, even implying that the family ignored the notices to vacate sent to them and that the video did not show the full picture.
"Generally, there were a lot of them because they were going around and inspecting quarantine areas...If we look nationwide, there are so many lands owned by the Philippine National Police where there are squatters [and] we know that a video would speak a thousand words that's why we will investigate on what happened during the confrontation," Gamboa said.
"This is a lot owned by the Philippine National Police. I'm sure there have already been many notices for them to vacate because their dad has already retired...As to the details why (regional director) Sinas has a lot of police officers with him, and also the cellphone-taking of the man, we will investigate it," he added.
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