2 DAVAO CITY COPS FACE DISMISSAL FOR ‘MOONLIGHTING’ AS REP. DUTERTE’S BODYGUARDS

TWO policemen in Davao City who were found to be “moonlighting” as bodyguards of Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte are facing dismissal over their failure to stop the lawmaker from manhandling a man inside a local bar iwhich video went viral on social media,  Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco D. Marbil said Wednesday.

Marbil said two members of the Davao City Police Office, with the rank of Police Executive Master Sergeant and Police Staff Sergeant, went on AWOL or Absence Without Official Leave status when Davao City police chief Col. Hansel M. Marantan ordered them stripped of their PNP-issued firearms and badges after they were identified as among the men surrounding the young Duterte while the  solon was attacking another man inside a bar in the city.

As a result of the viral video, Marantan immediately ordered an investigation into the background of the bodyguards of the son of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte who did nothing in the entire incident wherein Rep. Duterte was accused of headbutting and attacking an alleged male pimp.

Some long-time colleagues of the two identified them as the persons in the video. It was later discovered that both were “moonlighting” as bodyguards of the Davao City solon.

It was found out that the two, after their official duties, would “moonlight” as security men of the lawmaker, an act which is illegal in the police force.

The two other bodyguards were believed to be members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF). Police are coordinating with the PAF leadership in their effort to investigate the duo.

According to Marbil, the two Davao cops went on AWOL after surrendering their firearms and  PNP identification cards.

The country’s top cop said as a result of their actions, the two, including their immediate superiors, will face dismissal from the service.

Marbil said the incident should remind everybody of the case of 11 officers and men of the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) who were fired from the force in November last year for their involvement in a “moonlighting mess” that was discovered inside a posh village in Muntinlupa in May 2024.

The 11 cops were found guilty of grave misconduct, dishonesty, grave irregularity in the performance of their duties and conduct unbecoming of a police officer after a full-length PNP investigation showed they provided security to a suspected POGO personality in Ayala, Alabang.

An investigation was  launched after two of the SAF personnel engaged in a brawl which caused an alarm among residents of the subdivision.