PNP units on heightened alert following Duterte’s arrest
File photo
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has placed all its units under heightened security alert status in anticipation of protest actions following former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.
“This pertains to the current nationwide peace and order situation where possible civil disturbance, rallies and mass actions may arise following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” the PNP said in a memorandum order issued on Tuesday.
The memorandum was sent to all police regional offices and national support units, including the Special Action Force.
The PNP instructed all uniformed personnel to conduct proactive security measures and execute extreme caution “for possible enemy atrocities.”
It also advised police commanders to establish and intensify border control points and prepare civil disturbance management contingents to ensure peace and order and public safety.
Duterte was served with an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 after arriving from Hong Kong on Tuesday morning.
The arrest warrant was coursed through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) which asked Philippine authorities for assistance, a request which the Philippine government is obliged to comply with to honor its commitments to the international community.
Duterte was flown out of the country Tuesday night via a chartered plane that brought him to the Hague in the Netherlands, where the ICC headquarters is located.
Situation generally peaceful
The PNP said overall peace and order situation across the country remains generally peaceful.
“The Philippine National Police continues to monitor the situation closely and is fully prepared to respond to any developments,” PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said in a statement.
For his part, National Capital Region Police (NCRPO) chief Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin said sufficient police personnel are deployed to secure all possible rally sites in Metro Manila amid the threat of widespread protest actions.
“We have been monitoring since Tuesday and we will continue to do so as part of our effort of ensuring peace and order here in Metro Manila,” he said.
Currently, police officers are already securing the EDSA Shrine where former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque urged supporters of the former president to converge and hold a protest action for what he described as illegal arrest.
Aside from EDSA Shrine, the NCRPO has been monitoring the usual rally sites like Mendiola and Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, Welcome Rotonda at the boundary of Quezon City and Manila, and the People Power Monument in Quezon City.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said the Philippine government followed all legal procedures in the arrest of Duterte.
Marcos said the Philippine government was merely complying with the Interpol’s request to enforce the ICC order which was signed by pre-trial chamber Presiding Judge Julia Antoanella Motoc and two other magistrates, Sophie Alapini-Gansou and Maria del Socorro Flores Liera, on March 7.
The ICC is investigating Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity, in connection with the deaths associated with his war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and president of the Philippines.
Despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC in March 2019, the chamber maintained that it still has jurisdiction over the alleged crimes committed in the country while it was still a state party to the Rome Statute from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019. (with Priam F. Nepomuceno/PNA)
