Libel, obstruction of justice charges being studied
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday said that new cases will be filed against Vice President Sara Duterte and others on top of the complaints for direct assault, disobedience, and grave coercion filed against them last week.
PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo refused to specify what new charges would be filed against the Vice President and her companions but indicated that the additional complaints stemmed from more “recent events” or things that happened after the scuffle at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).
However, sources within the PNP told the Manila Standard that they are considering adding libel and obstruction of justice charges against Duterte and unnamed people in her circle.
It can be recalled that the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) filed criminal complaints against Duterte, her security detail head Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica, and certain ‘John Does’ after a confrontation with the police officers who secured the transfer of Office of the Vice-President (OVP) chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez from a hospital.
“We expect that we have other cases to file besides grave coercion, direct assault, and disobedience to persons in authority,” Fajardo said in an interview with Super Radyo DZBB.
In its initial complaint, the PNP argued that the Vice President and her staff’s actions may have interfered with the detention order issued by the House of Representatives and disrupted operations at both the detention center and VMMC.
In response, Duterte said she would also file counter charges of disobedience, robbery, and kidnapping against the PNP.
Meanwhile, Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil brushed aside speculation that the filing of charges against the Vice President and her staff was ‘politically motivated,’ emphasizing they were only exercising their constitutional mandate to enforce the rule of law.
The PNP is “committed to its mandate to enforce the rule of law without fear or favor,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“If we do not file cases against those accused, what will people say? The police are afraid and the law only has teeth against the poor. We cannot allow such perceptions to take root. Our duty is to apply the law to everyone, regardless of their standing, because justice is not selective,” the national police chief said.
“Our laws must be observed, obeyed, and upheld. This is our sworn duty as law enforcers. It is not about politics, but about ensuring accountability under the legal framework we all agreed to as a democratic society,” Marbil added.
He cited as an example the criticisms against the anti-drug crackdown of the previous administration, in which “victims were perceived to be predominantly from the poor.”
As this developed, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability ordered Lopez’s release on Saturday.
“In view of the undertaking to attend all hearings, you are hereby ordered to immediately release Atty. Zuleika T. Lopez after a medical examination has been conducted on her,” panel chair Manila Rep. Joel Chua wrote to the House Sergeant-at-Arms.
The OVP official was detained for 10 days after being cited for contempt.