Command conference with Marcos not for loyalty check, says PNP

‘ONE AND SOLID’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presides over a command conference of the Philippine National Police at Camp Crame in this file photo taken in February 2024. PCO file photo

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first Philippine National Police (PNP) command conference under its new chief, General Rommel Marbil is not a loyalty check, according to spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo.

Fajardo said that it is the chief executive’s duty to visit other law enforcement agencies, citing the command conference of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that Marcos also presided over.

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“Even the other branch of service ay pinasyalan na po niya. Wala po [loyalty check]. Malayo po doon yung pakay ng ating pangulo […] Hindi lang sa PNP, galing na po siya AFP, nagpunta na rin po siya sa Philippine Navy,” the police official clarified amid reports on the alleged destabilization plot against the Marcos administration.

(He even visited the other branch of service. No [loyalty check]. The aim of our president is far from that […] He is doing this with the PNP, AFP, and the Philippine Navy.)

“This is just a normal practice on the part ng ating presidente na kumustahin ang ating mga commanders para kahit paano ay marinig niya na maganda ang estado ng peace and order dito sa ating bansa,” she added.

(This is just a normal practice for our president to check on our commanders to hear the state of peace and order in our country.)

Last month, Marbil expressed confidence that “there is no truth” to rumors involving PNP in the alleged ouster plot against Marcos.

Marbil’s statement came after the revelation of former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that some of the officials behind the plot are based in Mindanao.

On the other hand,  Fajardo urged Trillanes to contact Marbil if he had sufficient evidence to support his claims. She also appealed to the former senator “to spare the organization from such rumors,” saying they had not monitored any senior police officials involved in such a plot.

Besides the destabilization moves, Trillanes also disclosed that the International Criminal Court is expected to issue an arrest warrant against former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte by this month or in July.