PNP eyes more cases vs Sara Duterte, others

After filing complaints for direct assault, disobedience, and grave coercion against Vice President Sara Duterte and others, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Sunday that more cases will be filed following the recent turn of events.

PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said the initial complaints against Duterte, Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) head Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica, and other John Does were filed in light of the disruption that happened when Atty. Zuleika Lopez fell ill when she was detained at the House of Representatives.

“Inaasahan natin na may mga iba pa po tayong mga kaso maliban nga dito sa grave coercion, direct assault, at disobedience to persons in authority,” she said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(We expect that we have other cases to file besides grave coercion, direct assault, and disobedience to persons in authority.)

Fajardo did not elaborate which cases are yet to be filed against the Vice President.

GMA News Online sought comment from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and will update this story once it responds.

Earlier, the PNP argued that the actions of Duterte’s staff may have interfered with the detention order issued by the House of Representatives, as well as disrupted the operations at both the detention center and Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).

The PNP said the VPSPG personnel reportedly assisted in the "forced transfer” of Lopez from the VMMC to St. Luke's Medical Center using a private ambulance.

Duterte, in return, said she would also file cases against the PNP for alleged disobedience, robbery, and kidnapping.

‘Not politically-motivated’

PNP chief Police General Rommel Marbil, meanwhile, maintained that the cases against Duterte and others were not politically-motivated but an exercise of the PNP’s mandate to uphold the rule of law.

“The PNP remains committed to its mandate to enforce the law without fear or favor. The filing of cases against any individual, regardless of status or political affiliation, is a reflection of our duty to the Constitution and the Filipino people,” Marbil said in a statement.

He also assured that legal mechanisms are in place to ensure fairness and due process amid the cases Duterte is facing.—AOL, GMA Integrated News