President Rodrigo Duterte’s first order to his new national police chief Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas, whose appointment has been intensely criticized by several sectors due to alleged human rights abuses, is to step up the anti-drug campaign, the latter said Wednesday.
Sinas told a Laging handa briefing: “His very first instruction is to continue, intensify, strengthen the campaign against illegal drugs.”
But while he was being criticized, which included his controversial birthday celebration with colleagues last May during the pandemic without observing health protocols, he told his critics to move on.
“For now, we should put the mañanita issue to rest, it was already investigated, it’s now on the prosecutor’s hands,” said Sinas on the sidelines of the leadership turnover ceremony at the National Capital Region Police Office in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
Sinas was referring to the criminal cases filed before the Taguig City prosecutors office against him and other high ranking police officers because of the gathering which the PNP – home to 205,000 police — earlier described as a mañanita or early morning birthday serenade.
The police officials were charged for violating City Ordinance 12 of Taguig City, which requires the wearing of masks in public, and Republic Act 11332, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
“That cannot be avoided. You’ve been following me since my stint in Region 7 until now. I’m just showing what we are doing right and our accomplishments,” Sinas said.
Meanwhile, former Southern Tagalog police commander Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao officially assumed his post as NCRPO director, replacing Sinas.
Sinas, who said he would focus on curbing corruption in the PNP and extremism, also said: “And we should really do our duty to curb or stop the spread of illegal drugs in various parts of the Philippines. The President wants to boost drug sweeps, especially for high-value targets.
Duterte recently said around 2 in 100 Filipinos were still addicted to illicit drugs, some 4 years into his controversial anti-narcotics drive that has left thousands dead.
Sinas is the latest commander to rise to the top post under Duterte having led operations in bloody hotspots of his war on drugs, during which thousands of urban poor have been killed, many in mysterious circumstances.
Rights groups accuse police of executing suspected dealers. Police say those killed in their operations were legitimate targets who resisted arrest.
“What lies ahead for the Filipino people with Sinas’ appointment is a bloody party of human rights violations,” said Cristina Palabay of rights group Karapatan.
“This fascist regime is gearing up for an intensified crackdown on dissent and assault on human rights.”
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte valued Sinas’ track record and “big” contribution to drug war.
Asked about his suitability, Roque said Duterte need not explain his appointments.
A United Nations report in June said tens of thousands of people might have been killed in the drug war with “near impunity” by police and incitement to violence by top officials. The government rejected that as baseless.
Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch, said drugs killings were rampant in the central region under Sinas and his appointment did not bode well for human rights.
“He seems very loyal to Duterte and it looks like he’s going to do what Duterte would ask him to do,” he said.
“We support the statement that he should be given a chance but again that should not prevent us from looking at his own records,” Conde said during an interview on ANC’s “Matters of Fact.”
Danao assured Sinas the NCRPO would intensify police visibility to deter criminal activities in Metro Manila.
“More police visibility on the streets. This is now part of our marching orders, let us flood the streets of Metro Manila with policemen in order to ensure the safety and security of our constituents,” Danao said.
He said he was also planning making some adjustments in the shifting of police personnel assigned in and outside police headquarters, and on strategic deployment of policemen as part of preventive measures against crimes.
“The police who will not follow the instruction on enhanced police visibility will be dealt with accordingly. We can only do that if we properly account (sic) our personnel,” Danao said.
The new NCRPO director also promised to continue the internal cleansing and other programs initiated by his predecessors by implementing the “Oplan Litis’ against erring police officers, especially those involved in drug trafficking.
“This has been my program since day one that I became commander at my own level. I will be very strict on that,” said Danao.
“I expect all members of the Philippine National Police, especially here in NCRPO, would tow the line. I appeal to all of you, let us put a stop especially on illegal drugs. If there is any single one of you who is a bit stubborn, as early as now, I tell you, the door is always open for you to leave,” he added.
Danao was the chief of the Davao City Police Station during the time of then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte until 2016.
He also served as director of the Manila Police District before he was transferred to Southern Tagalog or Region 4-A.
The NCRPO supervises the five police districts in Metro Manila — the Central (Quezon City), Northern, Eastern, Southern, and the Manila police district.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday welcomed a partnership with Sinas in upholding human rights.
“CHR hopes that, under the new leadership, PNP will affirm the government’s commitments to uphold justice and human rights by pursuing every case of human rights violation,” lawyer-spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said.
“We cannot overemphasize the role of our law enforcers in making perpetrators accountable for their offenses. And, to this end, we also look forward to concrete actions from the PNP in realizing openness and genuine cooperation in investigating said human rights violations — even in cases when State officers and agents are allegedly implicated in their commission,” she added.
“At the turn of a new phase for the PNP, we remain steadfast in extending the hand of partnership so that, together, concrete and credible actions may be laid down in the interest of upholding the human rights of all,” De Guia said.
May the PNP continue to affirm its motto to ‘serve and protect;’ live by the core values of Service, Honor and Justice; and values of Service, Honor and Justice; and be exemplars and advocates of the rule of law, most especially in communities where the voiceless, disadvantaged, and marginalized look up to the government to deliver a sense of justice and dignity as duty-bearers for our rights,” she added.
The CHR called on for the cleaning up the police ranks from erring officers and instilling respect for human rights in their core.
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International Philippines, for its part, pointed to the hundreds of drug-related extra-judicial killings that happened in Cebu when Sinas served as Central Visayas police chief from mid-2018 to 2019.
“Virtually, none of which were (sic) resolved,” the group said.
They also called Sinas’ appointment “the epitome of impunity.”
“Under his watch, furthermore, 14 farmers were killed in Negros Oriental province in March 2019,” Amnesty International Philippines cited, referring to the killings that happened under the Synchronized Enhanced Management of Police Operations.
Sinas led the campaign dubbed Oplan Sauron, which originally aimed to bring peace and order, but led to a series of killings and illegal arrests in the region, the group disclosed.
Human rights group Karapatan called Sinas’ appointment “a bloody party of human rights violations where Duterte’s most rabid and murderous lapdogs are given free rein to merrily kill, kill, and kill with wanton impunity.”
“The messages being sent are clear as day: follow the president’s orders and you will be protected and promoted, and that this fascist regime is gearing up for an intensified crackdown on dissent and assault on human rights by appointing one of its most loyal butchers as the country’s top cop,” the group said.
Kabataan Party-list Representative Sarah Elago echoed the groups’ pronouncements in a separate statement.
“Sinas is a symbol of the culture of impunity that has worsened under the Duterte regime, and this culture will only exacerbate with his rule as PNP chief,” Elago said.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Sinas to intensify the administration’s drug war, a flagship campaign launched in 2016 that has claimed the lives of thousands of suspected drug personalities.
In his speech during the turnover ceremony, Sinas thanked the president and assured the public “that the full force of the PNP will give its unwavering support to the national government in its relentless campaign against illegal drugs, corruption in the government, and criminality.”