PNP: Cases vs VP Duterte ‘not about politics’

Metro Manila, Philippines — The filing of cases against Vice President Sara Duterte and her security personnel is not about politics but a constitutional mandate, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief PGen. Rommel Marbil said on Sunday, Dec. 1.

The police have lodged direct assault, disobedience, and grave coercion complaints against Duterte and PCol. Raymund Dante Lachica over their supposed interference during the transfer of the vice president’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez from the House of Representatives to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.

"If we do not file cases against those accused, what will people say? Takot ang pulis, pangmahirap lang ang pangil ng batas. 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," Marbil said in a statement.

[Translation: If we do not file cases against those accused, what will people say? The police are scared, the rule of law is only for the poor.]

Marbil noted the alleged selective application of law in the “tokhang” (knock and plead) of the vice president’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in which victims were mostly poor.

“We refuse to let history repeat itself. The PNP is committed to protecting all sectors of society without bias or prejudice," the police chief said.

Marbil stressed that it is their sworn duty as law enforcers to follow and uphold laws to ensure accountability, adding that they cannot be selective and make exceptions based on affiliations.

He guaranteed that due process will be followed as legal mechanisms are in place.

NewsWatch Plus correspondent Daniza Fernandez contributed to this report.