The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced on Thursday, November 28, its readiness to face potential charges from Vice President Sara Duterte over a recent altercation involving law enforcement officers during the transfer of her chief of staff from a hospital.
PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III affirmed the police’s willingness to respond to any legal action filed. He said they welcome any plan of Duterte to file counter charges.
“That is always the right of anybody to file a case against the police, especially if they feel that they were aggrieved. We welcome that and we will wait for the case to be filed before we make a
statement,” Torre said in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Duterte has indicated plans to file charges, including disobedience, kidnapping, and robbery, against the police.
The conflict stemmed from a November 23 incident where Duterte and Colonel Raymond Dante Lachica, chief of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG), reportedly clashed with police officers during the transfer of her chief of staff, lawyer Zuleika Lopez, to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center from St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Video footage from the PNP allegedly showed Duterte and Lachica pushing Police Lieutenant Colonel Jason Villamor, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s (QCPD) medical and dental unit, who was assigned to oversee the transfer.
In response, the QCPD filed charges on Wednesday against Duterte, Lachica, and two unidentified individuals for direct assault, disobedience to authority, and grave coercion under the Revised Penal Code.
Torre revealed that the PNP initially considered filing additional charges but deferred to the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation for cases involving “intricate questions of law.”
The PNP is also coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to identify personnel present during the incident, intending to include them in the case through a supplemental affidavit.
