The Philippine National Police (PNP) said they are planning to file a criminal charge of direct assault against former president Rodrigo Duterte’s partner, Honeylet Avanceña, for hurting a police officer during his tension-filled arrest at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Tuesday.
In a video released by the PNP on Thursday, Avanceña was seen hitting one of the police officers with her mobile phone. The cops were trying to keep the situation under control as she and her daughter Veronica were resisting the authorities from arresting Duterte.
“Huwag mong hawakan ‘yan! (Do not touch her),” Avanceña was heard saying in the video before hitting a policewoman. “Ibalik niyo ang anak ko… Amin na! (Give me back my daughter),” she added.
Duterte was also heard telling the cops “‘hoy, nandito ‘yung preso. Hindi ‘yan.’ (Hey! Your prisoner is here).” Based on the footage, the police officers appeared to be calmly restraining a distraught Veronica and a furious Honeylet as tension filled the room.
Also seen in the video were PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Major General Nicolas Torre III and Central Luzon Director Brigadier Gen. Jean Fajardo. Torre acted as ground commander in assisting the Interpol, which served the warrant against the former president.
In an interview with Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro, Fajardo explained that police officers were subjected to harassment by the mother and daughter, who cursed at them. Regardless, the PNP exercised maximum tolerance at that point to ensure a peaceful arrest.
“In spite of that, no one harmed them. None of our police officers tried to hurt them and we tolerated their harsh words and actions against us,” Fajardo said.
She explained they had to separate Honeylet and Veronica from Duterte, so the police can proceed with serving him the arrest warrant because they were stalling the process.
“They were given enough time and it has come to a point that General Torre decided ‘it has to stop.’ We need to complete the process, so what our police did was to take Ms. Honeylet and her daughter to the side, so we can take the former president and bring him to the bus,” Fajardo said.
Torre confirmed he was pushed by Honeylet and acknowledged he was cursed at by Veronica as shown in the now viral video, featuring him explaining the situation to former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
“Even President Duterte himself reminded me of my retirement and told me his children will come after me and their relatives after my retirement. Even before my retirement he threatened me, but that’s okay. Our skin is thick and we can let it pass,” Torre told Castro.
The PNP also released photos of the assaulted cop, who sustained a large lump on her forehead. Fajardo said the police officer received medical treatment and is recovering from her injuries following the operation.
Duterte, his common-law wife, and their daughter were briefly held at the Villamor Air Base upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Hong Kong last Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Also present were Medialdea and lawyer Martin Delgra, who acted as legal counsels to Duterte at the time. The former president is facing allegations of murder as a crime against humanity from the International Criminal Court (ICC).