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Sinas not off the hook over mañanita despite appointment to top PNP post — Palace
By VIRGIL LOPEZ,GMA NewsPolice Major General Debold Sinas’ appointment to the top post in the Philippine National Police (PNP) did not absolve him of liability for the mañanita mess early this year, Malacañang said Monday.
“I don’t think so po. That’s not how our laws operate,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told a news conference.
Sinas is facing criminal charges over his birthday celebration in May
, which was held despite the prohibition against mass gatherings, including parties, under the enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19.The outgoing National Capital Region Police Office chief later apologized to the public but claimed that some of the photos circulating online were edited and grabbed from old posts.
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President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, defended Sinas, saying it was not his fault that his subordinates serenaded him on his 55th birthday.
“I think it was Senator [Panfilo] Lacson who said na wala namang perpekto pero dapat tingnan pa rin kung ano iyong naging achievement ng isang tao sa kaniyang panunungkulan – and I think that’s what happened to General Sinas,” Roque said.
"Let's trust the President on this decision."
Sinas will formally succeed Police General Camilo Cascolan on Tuesday when the latter reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56 and after only two months as the country’s top cop.
Sinas himself will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 in May next year. — RSJ, GMA News