PNP eyes charges vs Honeylet, Medialdea

MANILA, Philippines —  The Philippine National Police is eyeing criminal complaints against Honeylet Avanceña, the common-law wife of former president Rodrigo Duterte, for supposedly hurting a policewoman during a standoff at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City on Tuesday when the former chief executive was being escorted to a plane bound for The Hague in the Netherlands, home of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said a case of direct assault is being readied against Avanceña after she was caught on video hitting one of their personnel on the head with a cell phone.

“The police officer who was hurt and got injured will file a case,” Fajardo said at a news briefing in Camp Crame yesterday.

The victim, a member of the Special Action Force (SAF), had to be brought to a hospital for treatment of a lump on the head.

Fajardo said she, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III and other police officers who were present received profanities and insults during the implementation of a red notice from the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol, which was based on a request from the ICC.

Duterte was flown to the Netherlands where he will stand trial before the ICC for crimes against humanity for the killings in the bloody war on drugs of his administration.

Fajardo said Avanceña was included in the flight manifest as one of the three persons who could accompany Duterte but she refused to board the plane.

Instead of Avanceña, it was former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea who joined Duterte on the flight. Fajardo said they do not know Avanceña’s reasons for not joining Duterte on the plane.

Fajardo added they have no intention to file criminal cases against Avanceña’s daughter, Veronica, who was overhead in a video cursing at Torre.

Apart from Avanceña, Medialdea could also face a case of obstruction of justice after he allegedly attempted to stop the implementation of the arrest order against Duterte.

Fajardo said Medialdea was handcuffed after he refused to accede to their request to step aside.

“That is why no less than Gen. Torre held him and read him his rights, that he has the right to remain silent,” she said.

According to Fajardo, it is up to Torre whether to pursue charges against Medialdea.

Fajardo maintained that police officers did not abuse their authority and that they practised maximum tolerance during the standoff.

Addressing a video where Torre was overheard saying he will drag someone, Fajardo said that the CIDG chief was not referring to Duterte but the people around the former president who were trying to prevent them from bringing him to the plane.

Fajardo said Torre was designated as ground commander of the operation by PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil after the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime requested for the CIDG’s assistance in implementing the Interpol red alert notice.

Fajardo said Duterte’s security aide, an Army officer, was seen in a video being removed from the scene but was later allowed to accompany the former president on the plane.

She declined to identify the security escort, adding that he was just doing his job in protecting the former president.

No mass resignation

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and all of its three major service commands belied reports yesterday of supposed resignations among uniformed personnel due to Duterte’s arrest.

AFP officials, in separate statements, said such information circulating on social media are untrue, as the military remains professional and loyal to the Constitution.

Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala also clarified that the Philippine Army has not received reports of personnel resigning because of recent events.

Dema-ala said social media posts or supposed information of so-called resignations cannot be trusted and there are simply no such resignations among army personnel.

Navy spokesman Capt. John Percie Alcos likewise emphasized that the Philippine Navy, “as one of the major services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is a professional organization that adheres to the chain of command. We remain steadfast in our duty to ensure national security and stability.”

Air Force spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said the PAF “remains a professional organization focused on performing our mandate to protect the state and our people.”

For its part, the PNP yesterday reminded police officers of their sworn duty to stay apolitical, amid reported grumblings and resignations of some police officers in protest of Duterte’s arrest.

The PNP gave the reminder after people claiming to be police officers criticized the government on their social media accounts for their treatment of the former president.

One of them, with Facebook account Fonts STV Vlogs, even threatened the ICC and Interpol not to lay their fingers on Duterte or there is going to be violence.

In response, Fajardo said while police officers have their own personal opinions on the issue, there are restrictions when it comes to posting on their social media accounts as they are members of the police force, which is an apolitical organization.

Fajardo also downplayed a video of a policewoman who was seen in a viral video appearing to wipe tears while Torre was arguing with the people around Duterte.

Contrary to what is being portrayed on social media platforms, Fajardo said the police officer, who is a PNP-SAF member, was just wiping sweat from her face due to the humid conditions inside the packed lounge of the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. – Michael Punongbayan, Alexis Romero