PNP Chief Dir. Gen. Oscar Albayalde. INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO
The Philippine National Police (PNP) may file a case against the wife of arrested National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Vicente Ladlad for allegedly obstructing the legal flow of police procedures, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said on Friday.
Fides, Ladlad’s wife, had boldly demanded from the police to allow her to see her husband as he went through police procedures at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Thursday.
Albayalde said Fides also blocked a police mobile patrol vehicle at the camp. Fides even requested the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Director Joselito Esquivel Jr. to ride the vehicle with Ladlad to ensure that no harm will happen to him while being transported to Camp Karingal in Quezon City.
READ: NDFP consultant Vic Ladlad arrested by police, says wife
“Of course,” Albayalde told reporters in a chance interview when asked if the PNP can file a case based on Fides’ actions.
“There was an instance na hinarang niya ‘yung [police] mobile bago magfile ng kaso. That can also be tantamount to obstruction of justice because wala naman tayong ginawang masama at nahuli naman ito,” he said.
(There was an instance that she blocked the police mobile before we filed a case. That can also be tantamount to obstruction of justice since we did not do anything illegal here and Ladlad was legitimately arrested.)
According to Albayalde, Fides has interrupted the procedures of the police for her husband. The PNP chief said she should have respected the rules of the PNP regarding the natural flow of filing cases.
READ: WATCH: Wife of arrested NDFP consultant demands to see husband
Albayalde said that the police are “thinking” of filing a case, but clarified that he still has to talk about the matter with Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office.
He also denied that the evidence against Ladlad was planted, saying it is an “old alibi” of arrested suspects.
Earlier, Fides said the confiscated pieces of evidence were planted by the arresting officers. She said her husband could not have possessed or used firearms, since exhaustion from any violent encounter would trigger his asthma. /jpv
READ: PNP says arrest of NDFP consultant not a political issue