Sinas not yet off the hook — Palace spox

Metro Manila’s top cop, Police Major General Debold Sinas, is not yet off the hook even after President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not fire the official over allegations that he violated quarantine protocols.

Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said Sinas is still facing criminal charges over the mañanita held on May 8 to mark his birthday, which allegedly flouted the ban on mass gatherings and the social distancing rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Sa tingin ko po malinaw ang sabi ng ating Presidente: Mananatili po siya sa puwesto sa ngayon. At dahil dati namang piskal din ang ating Presidente, alam po ng ating Presidente na kinakailangan umusad iyong proseso ng kasong kriminal,” Roque said in a televised briefing on Thursday.

“Ito po ay isinampa na sa piskalya, magkakaroon ng preliminary investigation, magkakaroon po ng desisyon kung isasampa sa korte at kung isasampa sa korte, kinakailangan depensahan niya ang kaniyang sarili.”

A clearance from Malacañang is needed before administrative cases can be filed against Sinas and several other police officials who attended the gathering, Roque said.

Duterte said on Tuesday that he would not remove Sinas from his post, saying it was not his fault that his subordinates serenaded him on his birthday.

Elated by Duterte’s statement, Sinas urged his critics on Wednesday to move on from the controversy.

Critics said the President’s defense of Sinas put into question the sincerity of the government’s drive against quarantine violators with Senate Minority Franklin Drilon claiming it might erode public confidence in the ability of the coronavirus task force and the police to enforce the rules. — RSJ, GMA News