Metro Manila’s top cop, Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas, is still within the long arm of the law—despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement he would not fire him over allegations he violated quarantine protocols.
Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said Sinas was still facing criminal charges over the mañanita on May 8 to mark his birthday, with critics alleging he violated the ban on mass gatherings and the social distancing rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
But progressive groups were dismayed when Duterte defended Sinas during his address to the public on Tuesday, after he said he was responsible for his actions.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, said Sinas set a bad example, adding that while he agreed with Duterte’s decision to retain Sinas, the top cop should be punished for what he did.
Sinas has apologized for the incident but maintained that attendees practiced social distancing during the event. He also claimed that photos that circulated online were edited.
Sinas and 18 other police officers face criminal charges before the Taguig prosecutor’s office for violating City Ordinance 12 of Taguig City, which requires the wearing of masks in public, and Republic Act No. 11332, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
Sinas thanked Duterte for his trust and confidence and said he hoped his critics would “move on” after the President defended him.
“If there was a mistake, it’s okay. I will continue working and doing good since that is the guidance of the President,” Sinas said.
Lacson said: “I won’t be surprised. Because that’s a different matter. And he’s facing criminal as well as administrative cases on account of the mañanita case while celebrating his birthday.
“But his performance as NCRPO director is different from that singular act of indiscretion, shall we say. He really set a bad example. And the President I think was thinking along the line of what he has done and what he is doing in implementing the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) in NCR.
“I think the President based his decision to retain him mainly on that.”
Because of what Sinas did, according to Lacson, the PNP and the NCRPO “itself, have been put in a bad light on account of that one singular act of indiscretion.”
“Wrong judgment because you are implementing ECQ and there are arrests. And then being the head of NCRPO himself, violating the ECQ, that’s in no way a good example,” he said.
Lacson earlier tweeted asking for compassion for Sinas who came under fire after the controversial birthday celebration.
“I only based my tweet on the observation that some netizens even went to the extent of posting out-of-date photos or videos. I said, a little compassion; he’s getting it already, why rub salt to injury? Because by going to the extent of posting out-of-date videos that happened before his birthday celebration, so that’s a bit cruel, right?” said Lacson, who served as PNP chief during the time of President Joseph Estrada.
“Make no mistake. I’m not saying he should be absolved from the punishment he deserves. And I made it very clear,” he added.
Duterte said he would not fire nor replace Sinas, even though he violated quarantine protocols by allowing his subordinates to gather for a surprise birthday celebration.
“You can say that the ‘law is the law.’ That is my responsibility. But I will not order his transfer. He stays there,” Duterte said in a meeting with some Cabinet members Tuesday midnight, May 19.
“In the case of General Sinas at the National Capital Region Police Office, I don’t want him transferred. He is a good officer. He is an honest man and the mañanita for his birthday was not his fault,” Duterte said.
The President also justified the non-wearing of masks, saying the policemen could not possibly eat had they worn masks.
Duterte said he looked at the merits and demerits of the case and concluded that he needed Sinas to continue serving as NCRPO chief.
“They are many. They are all competent, but you know, seniority. it is his time to be there and I do not believe in just firing him because people sang happy birthday to him,” the President added.
In a statement, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said that Duterte’s pronouncements “are preposterous as it does not only convey a dangerous message that promotes impunity, but most importantly because it reveals how this government, within its forces, is coddling perpetrators of human rights violations.”
Palabay reminded the public of the human rights abuses in Negros during Sinas’ stint as Central Visayas police chief in 2019. She said families of the victims of extrajudicial killings were still crying for justice as no single investigation was conducted.
Palabay also took exception at Duterte’s description of Sinas as “honest” and a “good officer.”
“With the trail of killings, illegal arrest and detention, and other criminal acts committed in the course of the implementation of the local synchronized enhanced management of police operations in Negros, which were committed under his purview, he is in no way ‘good and honest,’ ” Palabay said.
On the other hand, Kabataan Partylist together with Kabataan Partylist Katipunan, Kabataan Partylist Katipunan-SHS, Panday Sining Katipunan, and One Big Fight for Human Rights and Democracy, created “a timeline of various fascist attacks” led by Sinas from 2018 until his controversial birthday celebration.
In his 17-month stint he saw at least 324 extrajudicial killings and 133 dead in police operations in Cebu alone.
Arriving in NCR and becoming the NCRPO chief, Sinas spearheaded crackdowns against activists and members of progressive organizations.