PNP affirms support for President; vows loyalty to Constitution

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday affirmed its support for President Rodrigo Duterte following a group claiming to represent the security forces came out and called for the President’s ouster.

READ: AFP backs Duterte, warns destabilizers seeking to oust President

“The officer corps and rank-and-file of the Philippine National Police dissociate ourselves with any pseudo organization using the name of the police and military institutions in patently political moves to wrest power from duly constituted authorities,” PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos said in a statement.

A group calling themselves Patriotic and Democratic Movement (PADEM) released a statement on Monday holding Duterte accountable for gross crimes in betrayal of the public trust and in violation of national sovereignty and the democratic rights of the Filipino people.

The group, who claims to represent the men and women of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PNP, also called on Filipinos to join protests seeking to oust Duterte.

The PNP asked these “shadowy groups with sinister motives” to spare the PNP from getting their support.

“We will never allow the PNP to be used in any move to betray the Constitution and grab power,” Carlos said.

“The full might of the 190,000-strong Philippine National Police will stand in the way of any attempt to destabilize government and challenge our earnest resolve to protect the state and its institutions,” he also said. JPV