MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) on Monday issued a public apology to the family of singer-songwriter Janno Gibbs over the unauthorized circulation of a video showing the body of hisfather – veteran film and television actor Ronaldo Valdez, who died December 17 last year.
“The QCPD extends its sincere apologies to the Gibbs family regarding the recent incident where a member of our police force inappropriately took a video of the late Mr. Ronaldo Valdez. We acknowledge the gravity of this lapse in judgment of some of our personnel, and we deeply regret any distress this may have caused,” the police district said in a statement on Monday.
“Rest assured that swift and decisive action is being undertaken. The involved personnel will face appropriate administrative charges for their actions. We want to emphasize that this behavior is not reflective of the values we uphold in QCPD,” it added.
Valdez died on December 17 last year.
According to QCPD, five police officers involved in the case will face administrative charges, including neglect of duty; grave irregularity in the performance of duty; grave misconduct in relation to Republic Act 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012 and RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012); conduct of unbecoming of a police officer and grave misconduct in relation to Presidential Decree 1829 (Obstruction of Justice) with dismissal from service as the maximum penalty.
A complaint for neglect of duty was filed against three police officers under the doctrine of command responsibility, while criminal complaints for violating the Data Privacy Act and Cybercrime Prevention Act will be lodged against civilians who reportedly leaked Valdez’s video.