PNP FILES RAPS VS VP SARA

THE Quezon City Police District (QCPD) on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte and three of her security detail following last weekend’s confrontation with police officers who secured the transfer of her chief of staff from a hospital.

The complaint is for direct assault, disobedience, and grave coercion, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

The charges were filed by Lt. Col. Jason Villamor, chief of the QCPD and Medical and Dental Unit, and four other QCPD cops before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

Aside from Duterte, also named as respondents in the complaint were Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) chief Col. Raymond Dante Lachica and two John Does.

The complaint stemmed from a recent incident at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) involving the transfer of Duterte’s chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez.

Lopez was cited for contempt by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and was initially ordered to serve a five-day detention, which was subsequently extended to 10 days due to the disruption.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo showed video footage where Duterte and Lachica were seen pushing Villamor, denying him of fulfilling the order of the House of Representatives to accompany Lopez during her transfer to the VMMC from the St. Luke’s Medical Center.

“In fact if I may share the video, which is already circulating, and this came from the head of security of the VP, they pushed our police officer. This is not an ordinary police officer, this is a doctor and he was precisely there to assist. He was assigned to the QCPD, he was specifically instructed to assist the patient and bring her to the Veterans Hospital. However, he was pushed by Col. Lachica and we cannot let this pass,” Fajardo said.

The Vice President also reportedly berated police officers securing Lopez’s transfer by telling them “‘wag kayong bakla,” which according to Fajardo can be a case of direct assault.

Fajardo said despite the alleged cursing, the officers did not retaliate and exercised self restraint.