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Emmanuel Tupas - The Philippine Star
March 16, 2025 | 12:00am
Members of the Manila Police District (MPD) prepare for deployment at their headquarters in Ermita, Manila on January 3, 2025.
STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday denied allegations that police officers are resigning en masse due to the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In an interview over dzBB, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said no police officer has resigned since Duterte’s arrest on Tuesday and that the Anti-Cybercrime Group is documenting social media posts claiming there is dissension in their ranks.
One such false information shared on Facebook is from an account named “Jing Jing,” which posted a policewoman clad in Presidential Security Group (PSG) and Special Weapons and Tactics uniforms saying she has resigned after Duterte’s arrest.
The policewoman in the post also said that wearing the badge when Duterte was president was the highlight of her career.
However, Fajardo said that their background check revealed that the woman resigned in 2024 and then moved to Australia with her husband.
Another post is of a policeman wearing a PSG uniform saying that he is also leaving the PNP in protest.
“We have coordinated with the PSC (Presidential Security Command) and we have discovered that he has been discharged from service. It was an AWOL or absent without leave,” Fajardo said.
The investigation, Fajardo said, showed there is a concerted effort by certain people to sow division among the members of the PNP.
She also criticized people who are taking advantage of Duterte’s arrest to spread intrigue at the expense of the PNP, which is just following orders of duly-constituted authorities.
She pointed out the PNP assisted the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime in implementing a red notice alert on Duterte issued by the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol.
Meanwhile, National Capital Region Police Office director Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin reported that there were no untoward incidents in the prayer rally held by Duterte supporters in Liwasang Bonifacio yesterday.
The protesters came from various parts of Metro Manila such as Quezon City, Pasay and Las Piñas, arriving in Manila in motorcades.
However, Fajardo said they are not letting their guard down as they continue to monitor and coordinate with other concerned government agencies.
