National Capital Region Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas and several other senior police officials will face criminal and administrative charges over Sinas’ controversial birthday celebration amid the enhanced community quarantine due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19), Malacañang said Thursday.
READ: Criminal, administrative cases readied vs Sinas, party-goers
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said he was informed by Philippine National Police chief Gen. Archie Gamboa that a criminal case was “now being readied” and was expected be filed Friday against Sinas and other senior police officials who attended the gathering.
“The PNP is also getting clearance from the Office of the President regarding the filing of administrative charges in violation of quarantine rules against the alleged violators,” Roque said.
He said a clearance from the President was needed before administrative charges were filed against Sinas, since he was a presidential appointee.
“Maj. Gen. Sinas is a third level officer and a presidential appointee; hence, a clearance from the Office of the President is needed for the filing of administrative charges of the PNP. The same applies to the senior police officials who are also presidential appointees,” the Palace spokesperson said in a statement.
Earlier, the NCRPO chief was criticized after photos of his surprise birthday celebration on May 8— which he had labeled as a simple “mañanita” or early morning serenade— made rounds on social media this week.
The photos were uploaded on the Facebook page of NCRPO’s public information office, where police officers were giving Sinas roses and cakes, while Metro Manila’s top cop mingled with guests seated at various tables.
Sinas apologized for what transpired during his birthday, saying some of the photos that circulated online were “edited and grabbed from old posts.”
Some lawmakers criticized the supposed “double standard” and “insensitivity” of the police officers for allowing the gathering while most parts of the country were under lockdown due to the COVID-19 crisis.
READ: Sinas says 'sorry' over birthday gig
Sinas said he would not take a leave of absence from his post— unless ordered by Gamboa or President Rodrigo Duterte himself.
At the same time, the National Bureau of Investigation said on Thursday it would summon Sinas to explain alleged violations of quarantine regulations at his recent birthday party.
The NBI said it would send a letter inviting Sinas to give a statement on his birthday “mañanita,” which defied quarantine regulations barring mass gatherings and requiring physical distancing.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch said Sinas should be disciplined for his flagrant violation of the Philippines’ strict quarantine and lockdown regulations.
“His superiors should not allow Sinas to play this double standard game, where he celebrates his birthday with friends all around like there’s no pandemic, but the ordinary people of Metro Manila face tight restrictions enforced by his officers, whose disproportionate strictness has resulted in rights abuses,” Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director, Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“’Do as I say, not as I do’ is not a viable policing strategy in a pandemic,” said Robertson.
Robertson said, by flouting these regulations, Sinas recklessly endangered his friends and subordinates at the party, and damaged the moral authority of the PNP to act as a leading agency addressing the COVID-19 crisis.
“Responding to a public health emergency means all Filipinos should cooperate with officials, but it also imposes a burden on those officials to be exemplars of the conduct they expect from the citizenry. Maj. Gen. Sinas abysmally failed that test and he should be publicly disciplined for his actions,” said Robertson.
READ: PNP: No more warning, just arrest ECQ violators
Meanwhile, a Manila police official who was tested positive for coronavirus disease was now facing administrative and criminal cases for sneaking into Baguio City, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Thursday.
Magalong said the PNP headquarters had launched a pre-charge investigation on Maj. Rafael Roxas, deputy chief of the PNP Crime Laboratory’s Fingerprint Division, after the latter apologized for slipping into Baguio without undergoing quarantine protocols.
Those who want to enter the city have to present a permit from the city government at the borders. They will then will be led to the triage to make a referral whether they will undergo a 14-day quarantine in a medical facility or home isolation.
Magalong said that while the tracing of Roxas’ contacts was being done, an investigation was underway to find out how he entered and who allowed him entry without going through the process.
Roxas is the city’s 31st COVID-19 case, after recording no transmission cases since April 27. He was tested positive for COVID-19 on May 11 but had been isolated last week when he arrived in Baguio to visit a relative.
Magalong reiterated that no one was spared from undergoing the quarantine protocols to contain the spread of the respiratory disease.
“But surely, when he (Roxas) gets well, he will face a case,” Magalong said.
In Cavite, the Police Provincial Office arrested 853 violators in its continuing strict implementation of the ECQ, according to Major Dennis Villanueva, public information chief of Camp Pantaleon Garcia.