Police forces staying put at Makati City Hall ‘without order from superiors’

MANILA, Philippines–The standoff between policemen and supporters of suspended Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. continues as hundreds of policemen deployed at Makati City Hall do not intend to leave the perimeter of the building unless ordered by their superiors, the ground commandeer, Senior Supt. Elmer Jamias, said on Tuesday.

“We will not budge from our position unless the order to leave the premises will come from the Philippine National Police hierarchy,” Jamias told the Inquirer in his temporary office on the second floor of the old Makati City Hall.

“The order we will follow will only be from the PNP hierarchy and not from any politician,” Jamias said.

He said the mandate of his men was to ensure that no untoward incident happens between the parties concerned.

“We are here to maintain peace and order and we are not siding with anyone,” Jamias said.

Jamias, also deputy director of the Southern Police District, said JV Bautista, a spokesman of the United Nationalist Alliance, accompanied by a phalanx of reporters on Monday evening, questioned the police presence on the premises after the Court of Appeals granted the temporary restraining order (TRO) against the suspension of Mayor Junjun Binay.

He said Bautista asked the policemen to leave. “But I could not accede to the demand of Attorney Bautista because I have my order from my superiors to secure the people who converged in the area,” Jamias said.

Jamias said his men knew about the TRO, “but there’s no new order from superiors. As far as we are concern (Vice Mayor Romulo “Kid”) Peña is still acting mayor.”

“We have not received an order saying otherwise after the suspension was served on Monday morning,” Jamias added.

Contrary to the reports that 4,000 police officers were deployed, there were only 1,200 PNP members in the area, according to PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo.

“There is no overkill,” he said. “The ground commanders just ensured that there were enough police officers to maintain peace and order and that no one would get hurt,” he added.

“True enough, with the deployment, no one was reported hurt,” Cerbo said.

Binay described the prevailing situation in the city as QuasiMARtial law, a play on the first name of the interior and local government secretary.

In a press conference at Makati City Hall, Binay said this was because the Department of the Interior and Local Governments led by Secretary Mar Roxas continued to “create tension” in the city despite the issuance of the TRO.

“What is sad is that it’s like MARtial law here in Makati. It’s like martial law because truckloads of policemen are coming. And you have Colonel Jamias lording it over the city government. Does Colonel Jamias need to make the rounds surrounded by armed policemen who carry Armalites?” Binay asked.

Binay said his stint as mayor was not interrupted and that Peña “never at any instance became mayor of this city” because of the TRO from the Court of Appeals.

He said he would sign all pertinent documents in his capacity as mayor.

On Tuesday morning, Binay also held a meeting with his department heads, a meeting that he said was not a “loyalty check” but was “a normal department heads meeting.”

The meeting was off-limits to the media.