MANILA, Philippines — Newly-minted police chief Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas believes his credibility as the country's top cop is unaffected by his mañanita controversy, and any critics should "move on" from the issue and instead file complaints against him in the proper venues, he said Wednesday.
Speaking at the Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Sinas challenged his critics to file cases against him, pointing out that it has been months since the incident occurred.
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Since news broke over the general's promotion to his post, the issues of his record of unsolved killings, and his breach of quarantine protocols at a birthday party have been brought up.
Sinas said he was not facing any formal cases for the killings.
READ: Mañanita complaint languishes in Taguig prosecutor’s office
"If they have any complaints, they can file those in our courts and before the agencies supervising the PNP. And if this is about the human rights violations, there is no truth to those...I'm encouraging them to file cases so I can answer them in the right venues," he said in Filipino.
On the contrary, the alleged human rights violations throughout his term as regional director in Central Visayas are well-documented, although they have never been directly linked to him.
In January, the Senate committees on public order and dangerous drugs and human rights called for a probe into a wave of killings in Negros in 2018 and in 2019 and later noted that most of the killings occurred when the police and military launched Oplan Sauron or the Simultaneous Enhanced Managing of Police Operations in Negros.
According to CHR Central Visayas in August 2018, there were 22 killings in Negros Oriental alone between June 27 and July 28.
'Move on'
Urging detractors to file formal cases has long been a tactic employed by police leadership, though past cases hardly came to fruition.
As it stands, Sinas is facing two complaints for his mañanita controversy, both of which are still pending before the Taguig City Prosecutors Office to this day.
Months after the incident took place, he is not only still in office but is now the country's top cop, having been cleared by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself.
READ: PNP exec apologizes but denies holding birthday party despite quarantine rules
He issued an apology once the news broke, but denied the event ever happened despite his own office posting pictures of it. Photographs showed that celebrators were neither wearing masks nor physical distancing despite Metro Manila being under a strict enhanced community quarantine status.
In a later statement, he admitted the gathering took place but denied any wrongdoing occurred.
Asked if the birthday celebration diminished his credibility as the 25th chief of the PNP, Sinas said: “I don’t think so. It’s been six months and it happened while I was still at the NCRPO."