The appointment of Sinas as head of the PNP generates mixed reactions

HOST THE PARTY The public will not forget this photo of Police Major General Debold Sinas organizing a “morning” in May at Bagong Diwa camp in Taguig City, despite strict quarantine measures. —PHOTO BY NCRPO PIO

President Duterte appointed Major General Debold Sinas, the Metro Manila police director who was charged with violating quarantine measures for his “morning” birthday party amid a coronavirus lockdown, as the next head of the Philippine National Police.

“Chief Sinas may not be perfect, but he was able to impress the president with his dedication to the fight against illegal drugs,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a news conference Monday.

Roque said that the appointment to the top PNP position was a matter of trust and security, and Sinas is “for the moment, the president he trusts the most, so let’s leave it at that.”

Sinas will replace General Camilo Cascolan, who retires on Tuesday. Cascolan was head of the PNP for two months, while Sinas will serve until May next year when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56 years.

‘Mañanita’ controversy

The new head of the PNP was criminally and administratively charged for alleged violations of the rules of physical distancing and mass gathering in May, when a strict closure was established in Metro Manila, for a birthday morning (midnight serenade) at the headquarters of the Police of the National Capital Region. Office (NCRPO).

The incident practically turned tomorrow into an everyday word associated with the police officer.

But according to the Secretary of the Interior, Eduardo Año, “that case (mañanita) is still under preliminary investigation so it has not been resolved. That has not reached the court, so there is still no pending case according to its definition. “

On Monday, Año told reporters that “he (Sinas) went through the career ladder (in the PNP) … If you look at his qualifications, he is highly qualified although controversial in the morning.”

Sinas, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1987, also served as the secretary to the senior staff at the PNP national headquarters and as the director of the Central Visayas Police. He had a brief period as director of the PNP Crime Laboratory and was with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the PNP intelligence group, and served in the police offices of Soccsksargen, Zamboanga Peninsula, Central Luzon and Region. Cordillera Administrative Officer in various capacities.

Mr. Duterte had refused to relieve Sinas of his position at the NCRPO after the controversy that morning. He described the officer as good and honest, and he is not to be blamed for the PNP staff’s decision to serenade him.

Visayas murders

Lawmakers on the party list on Monday expressed mixed feelings about the new Sinas publication. Some voiced support for the president’s decision, while progressive lawmakers criticized it.

The Makabayan bloc warned of more human rights violations, recalling arrests and extrajudicial executions during Sinas’ tenure as chief of police for central Visayas from 2018 to 2019.

Central Visayas saw an increase in unsolved murders of people linked to illegal drug trafficking under the surveillance of Sinas, according to the Human Rights Commission (CHR) in the region.

CDH chief investigator Leo Villarino said Sinas would always be remembered as the police officer who was adamant in his decision not to provide human rights investigators with copies of police reports on the killings in central Visayas.

“While we appreciate your relentless campaign against illegal drugs in Central Visayas, there were so many murders [on] his watch, ”Villarino said.

“The Human Rights Commission is conducting an investigation [of] these murders, although we could not obtain the documents from the police. I understand you were just following orders from your superiors. But I hope that soon, when he becomes the head of the PNP, he will eliminate that policy, “he said.

“We know General Sinas from his passage through the Western Visayas, when numerous extrajudicial executions and illegal arrests proliferated,” said Bayan Muna’s representative, Ferdinand Gaite.

PNP cleaning

Diwa’s representative, Mike Aglipay, the son of former PNP chief Edgar Aglipay, said Sinas “must be an example in law enforcement.”

“As the top law enforcement officer in the country, we expect no less from him,” Aglipay said.

Year said he expects Sinas “to lead the PNP organization with greater intensity in the fight against illegal drugs, criminality, extremism or extremists, and communists, bandits, terrorists and should continue the PNP purge program to instill professionalism. and discipline and remove, if they still remain, rogues from the organization. “

“So let’s give it a try. The president has spoken, so let’s give Sinas a chance, ”he said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Sinas’ appointment “will definitely raise a lot of eyebrows.”

“Despite that, General Sinas must demonstrate his sincerity to continually clean the ranks of our police force beginning by leading by example at all times,” he said.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, the former head of the PNP, adopted an indulgent tone. “Barring any controversy Major General Sinas has been entangled in in the past, he is a good fit for the highest post in the PNP,” he said.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, another former PNP chief, said Sinas “has a proven track record.”

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the president could have made a “more meritorious choice” for the head of the PNP than Sinas.

“While Debold Sinas was a freshman of my late husband and an old friend, unfortunately, the poor way in which the PNP has acted on the waves of violence, as well as minimized the risks of the coronavirus pandemic under his orders. previous ones, betrays his level of competence for this new role, ”he said in a statement.

–Reports by Jeannette I. Andrade, Leila B. Salaverria, DJ Yap, Julie M. Aurelio, Krixia Subingsubing, Dexter Cabalza, Ador Vincent Mayol, Nestle Semilla nd Inquirer Research

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