PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. Photo by Julliane Love de Jesus/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Mar Roxas has no hand in the ongoing standoff between the police and supporters of suspended-Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday afternoon.
Refuting the claims of Binay who decried the “quasi-MARtial law” at the Makati City Hall, the PNP said the deployment of policemen was solely the action of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) and not of Roxas.
“Ang role ng PNP dito is purely on the performance of our mandate, to maintain peace and order, so hindi kailangan dito ang hand of other guidance kagaya ng mga ini-insinuate,” PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said in a press briefing in Camp Crame.
Binay has been blaming Roxas for his suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman and for “creating tension” in Makati City despite the Court of Appeal’s 60-day restraining order on his suspension.
He slammed the police for deploying truckloads of lawmen, including those from the elite Special Action Force, armed with shields, helmets and high-powered firearms.
The DILG, led by Roxas, maintains that Binay remains suspended and that Vice Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña is acting city mayor.
Cerbo said the police, through the ground commander, had the power to deploy men without guidance from higher authorities.
“The secretary didn’t order this. If he has guidance, maybe more of general guidance, to ensure that the situation would be peaceful, orderly and to observe maximum tolerance,” he said.
The PNP spokesperson said that in the absence of a court order, the police would follow the orders of the DILG.
“We have to follow the legal order from the Ombudsman. But we are also aware of the TRO from the Court of Appeals,” Cerbo said.
He acknowledged that “There’s tension between the supporters (of Binay) and the policemen, [who] are deployed for the security of the people, and orderliness in the general area.”
On Monday night, Senior Superintendent Elmer Jamias, the ground commander on the Makati City Hall grounds, had a heated argument with lawyer JV Bautista of the United Nationalist Alliance on the continuing presence of lawmen in the area.
Jamias is the deputy director for administration of the Southern Police District.
Contrary to reports that 4,000 policemen were sent to the Makati City Hall, Cerbo said the NCRPO only detailed 1,200 PNP members.
On why policemen were carrying high-powered firearms, he said there might be “armed groups and criminal elements” who would take advantage of the situation.