Sara Duterte to new cops: Don’t ‘betray’ a Filipino

INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday told new police officers to uphold integrity by not allowing themselves to be tainted by wrongdoings such as “betraying” and “surrendering” a Filipino to a foreign body.

Duterte made the pronouncement as she congratulated the Philippine National Police Academy Sinaglawin Class of 2025 and thanked them for choosing a path that is “rough, demanding, and may even be extremely perilous.”

“Sa inyong kagitingan at kahandaan na tunay na magsilbi, sana ay lagi ninyong piliin ang tama. Huwag sana ninyong hayaan na mabahiran ang inyong propesyon ng mali katulad ng pagkakanulo sa isang Pilipino ng kanyang kapwa Pilipino,” Duterte said in a congratulatory statement.

(With your bravery and readiness to truly serve, may you always choose what is right. May you never allow your profession to be tainted by wrongdoing, such as the betrayal of a Filipino by a fellow Filipino.)

“Walang kapatawaran ang pagsuko at pagpapakulong sa mga dayuhan ng isang Pilipinong naglingkod ng tapat sa ating bayan,” she added.

(There is no forgiveness for the surrender and imprisonment of a Filipino in a foreign land orchestrated by a Filipino against a fellow Filipino who served our nation faithfully.)

She also urged the new cops to protect the country from corruption and those who destroy the intrinsic Filipino values of “principle and integrity.”

“Just like those who completed this course before you, you are presented with the choice to become citizens who will uphold the interest of the Filipinos above all else,” she added.

Her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, has been detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague after he was arrested for crimes against humanity he allegedly committed during his administration’s war against drugs.

READ: Duterte’s ICC arrest: Separating fact from lies

The Duterte family and their supporters claimed that the arrest was “illegal” and a betrayal of the Filipino people, as the Philippines is no longer under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government was merely cooperating with the International Criminal Police Organization in enforcing the ICC’s arrest warrant against Duterte.

The Palace and legal experts also said that the ICC retains its jurisdiction over crimes committed when the Philippines was still a member of the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC.

At least 6,000 people died in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, but human rights groups reported at least 20,000, most of whom were killed by active cops.

READ: War on drugs: The violence, scars, doubts and families it left behind

One such case was Kian Delos Santos, a Grade 11 student who was killed in a police operation in Barangay 160, Caloocan City.

Authorities initially claimed that Delos Santos resisted arrest and opened fire at arresting officers when he was apprehended. However, a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage showed lawmen dragging the victim before he was found shot to death.

On November 29, 2018, police officers involved in the death of Delos Santos were found guilty.

READ: 3 policemen guilty of killing Kian delos Santos — court