Members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Maringal” Class of 1988 expressed their support for former chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Wilkins Villanueva who is currently facing contempt charges.
Members of the said class signed the manifesto of support for Villanueva on Tuesday.
The members came from the Philippine Air Force (PAF), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Army (PA), the Philippine Navy (PN), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“Any move to detain DG Villanueva would represent not only a misapplication of authority but a serious affront to fairness, due process, and the respect due to an individual who has honorably served our nation,” the group said in its manifesto.
“The accusations made against him (Villanueva), unsupported by credible evidence, cast doubt on the integrity of the process. Any move to detain DG Villanueva would risk eroding public trust in the institutions tasked with upholding justice and fairness,” the manifesto added.
“We stand firmly with him during this challenging time and believe that upholding justice in his case will strengthen public trust in the nation’s democratic institutions.”
PGen. Dionardo Carlos (Ret.), who is also a signatory to the manifesto, said: “We cannot allow this to pass and let them continue to dishonor the men and women who selflessly and patriotically served this country and the Filipino people.”
Carlos, who served as the 27th Chief of the PNP, praised Villanueva and those “who selflessly, faithfully, and patriotically served this nation and our fellow Filipinos.”
Yogi Filemon Ruiz, former PDEA Director also expressed his support for Villanueva saying that “he deserves better than to be cited in contempt just because his answers do not fit the game plan.”
“I have personally witnessed how he sacrificed for our country. And to put him in such humiliation just because a congressman, who spends all his time in an airconditioned office being served by paid office staff, cannot accept the answers because it does not fit into his agenda is such a gut-wrenching experience,” said Ruiz.
The Quad Committee of the House of Representatives earlier ordered the detention of Villanueva for refusing to answer questions during a hearing on the war on drugs of the previous administration.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “PMA ‘Maringal’ Class of 1988 declares support for ex-PDEA chief Wilkins Villanueva.”
