PNP sets deadline on Roque, Pacquiao probe

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas has given PNP investigators until Monday to submit the result of the probe on the alleged violation of quarantine protocols of presidential spokesman Harry Roque and Sen. Manny Pacquiao.

Sinas said he would immediately forward the PNP report to Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año, who ordered the investigation.

“Binigyan ko sila ng deadline na sana hanggang Monday next week mai-foward na nila,” Sinas told ANC.

Roque earned public ire for allegedly violating health and safety measures when he spoke in front of a large crowd on Bantayan Island in Cebu last week.

Pacquiao also received criticism when he led a gift-giving activity in Batangas for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.

Reports said the events attended by Roque and Pacquiao violated quarantine guidelines and the ban on mass gatherings.

Sinas assured the public that they would finish the probe even if Roque and Pacquiao are allies of President Duterte.

The PNP chief said police investigators gathered facts and statements from the organizers of the events.

“We will complete the investigation and submit our findings and recommendations to the DILG,” Sinas said.

Another cop dies of COVID-19

Meanwhile, another police officer has died of COVID-19, bringing to 27 the number of PNP personnel who succumbed to the disease.

The fatality, a 52-year-old policewoman assigned at the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), died on Wednesday while undergoing treatment.

She was among the 23 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the PNP, which now totaled 8,212. Of the number, 7,773 or 94.64 percent of the patients have recovered.

The other regions with new COVID-19 cases are the Cordilleras with 11; Northern Mindanao, three; Calabarzon and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, two each, and Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa and Zamboanga peninsula, one each.

The PNP national support unit logged one case.

A total of 412 police officers are still recuperating from the virus in hospitals and quarantine facilities.