PNP chief sacks 2 cops moonlighting for Paolo Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Two police officers allegedly moonlighting as security escorts for Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte have been ordered dismissed by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil.

Authorities probed police Executive M/Sgt. Rexter Millano and S/Sgt. Leonard Pamat for acting as Duterte’s bodyguards without proper authority.

Millano and Pamat should be kicked out of the PNP for dishonesty, Marbil said yesterday.

“That’s perpetual disqualification from any government post. This is our warning to the police force: make sure to take your job religiously,” he told reporters at Camp Crame.

Davao City police chief Col. Hansel Marantan said Millano and Pamat were assigned with the Marilog and Paquibato stations.

Their immediate commanders should also be sanctioned, Marbil stressed.

Eleven officers and personnel of the Special Action Force (SAF) were dismissed in November last year for providing illegal security escort services to a Chinese national in Muntinlupa, he recalled.

Duterte is embroiled in controversy after an altercation with a businessman at a Davao bar last Feb. 24, an incident caught on closed-circuit television.

Apart from Millano and Pamat, two Philippine Air Force personnel were also part of Duterte’s security detail, based on the footage.

Moonlighting is a serious offense in the PNP, Marbil maintained.

Political attack?

In defense of her brother, Vice President Sara Duterte has claimed that the viral video showing Paolo threatening a man with a knife is ultimately a “political attack.”

“It’s a good thing that this (CCTV footage) appeared before the May 12 midterm elections so voters can properly decide who they will choose... but it’s really a political attack,” she told GMA News.

The businessman has filed a complaint against Paolo for allegedly physically assaulting him for hours inside a bar.

“I don’t think President Marcos’ candidates in Davao City are involved in filing the case. This is purely the PNP and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG),” she said.

The Vice President claimed there is a broader pattern of harassment targeting her family, which she believes is being driven by national political interests.

“It’s clear the administration has a pattern of diverting attention away from their failures and attacking political opponents instead. That is one of the national (government’s) strategies to destroy our family,” she said.

Duterte supporters

Fearing an alleged police raid, supporters of the Duterte family are watching over former president Rodrigo Duterte’s residence at Doña Luisa Village 1 in Ecoland in Davao City.

Over 500 members of the CIDG and 300 SAF personnel recently arrived in the city.

On March 11, Duterte was arrested and turned over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity stemming from his bloody war on drugs.

The Vice President said Marcos should be held accountable for her father’s arrest.

Duterte’s supporters are reportedly coming from different parts of the country to guard his residence from police officers.

Meanwhile, simultaneous rallies will be held nationwide today  – serving as the miting de avance for candidates of the Duterte-led Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan.

Despite being detained in The Hague, Duterte is running for Davao City mayor in the May 12 midterm elections.

Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing before the ICC is scheduled for Sept. 23. — Edith Regalado, Neil Jayson Servallos