The F he is

by: Rowena Joy Flores

Just last November 10, Debold Sinas was appointed as the new Philipine National Police (PNP) Chief. Many Filipino citizens are not happy about it and we know why.

It is hard not to recall Debold Sinas as many of our Filipino netizens made a meme out of him breaking quarantine rules for the infamous “mañanita” birthday party last May 2020. While government officials air their narratives about how Filipinos are “pasaway,” Sinas, a supposed implementer of the law, broke policies on social distancing and mass gatherings. He said the photos were fake and revoked his apology as he insisted that nothing was wrong with his “mañanita.”

Now, that same cop, who drew flak in social media, is given a promotion. Many took to social media to express their dismay. But unlike before, this type of dismay from the people did not come with memes. We all realize that the issue at hand is no longer meme-worthy as the ridiculousness of this slapstick (A rule-violator is appointed as PNP chief!) exceeds that of a blunder.

In a recent public briefing Sinas said we should put an end to the “mañanita” controversy- as if the public should shrug off how he was excused from breaching protocol when many civilians who broke protocol for dire needs were humiliated and put to jail. Unlike those who were imprisoned and fined for violation, Sinas was pardoned. This is despite having criminal and administrative charges pressed against Sinas and the other officials who were there for his surprise birthday party.

The president also stood up for him and asked to take the blame for Sinas. Those who violated the rules for good reason are forgotten while the, by Duterte’s words, “good cop” is forgiven. It seems that there is a “friend is a friend” policy going on in the administration. Maybe those who got jailed for violation were not forgiven because they were not cops. It is funny how we, normal civilians, have to suck it up because we are not friends with the President.

Sinas was not only infamous for his “mañanita,” he was also notorious for unresolved killings in Negros Oriental because of his “Oplan Sauron,” a program designed to suppress terrorism and violence. The onslaught of Sinas’s war on drugs left not only drug-related personalities dead, but also activists and peasants. According to the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights, it was during Sinas’s leadership that they saw the killings in Negros become more frequent yet no investigation yielded results.

It is ironic how his presence and leadership became the violence that supposedly suppressed the violence in Negros- something that would only make sense, of course, to people whose footsteps Sinas is following. Sinas’s track record of 136 deaths (As stated by reports) in police operations during his stay in Negros is a resemblant of the violent deaths in Manila during the start of the President’s war on drugs. Like the good follower he is, Sinas left a bloody trail in Negros in the name of eliminating violence.

Sinas has also been entangled in other issues like allegedly harassing former policeman Arnel delos Santos’s family in Taguig city, hoping to evict them without documents. According to reports, Sinas has also been criticized for being “anti-media” as he imposed a no media interview protocol in the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), and allegedly told the NCRPO journalists to vacate their press office so he can use it. Sinas was also accused of having something to do with the arrest of activists, which included Reina Mae Nasino, after he had a dialogue with the judge who issued search warrants to the police last 2019.

Then again, what do the aforementioned issues matter when whoever gets to be the leader of 200,000 PNP is based on Duterte’s prerogative? Onenews reports that Harry Roque even said that Duterte chose Sinas because of Sinas’s “record as an anti-drug crusader.” Apparently, the president found that Sinas has contributed a lot to the war on drugs. Sinas gained Duterte’s favor over other higher-ranked qualified candidates for the spot. Perhaps his performance for Duterte’s cause made him a favorite.

We can only agree with Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Teachers Representative France Castro as she said “With this new appointment of the Chief PNP, we can only expect more human rights violations against the Filipino people as the tyrannical rule of the Duterte administration persists.”

Birds of the same feather flock together, but apparently they are also building their nest together in the government. We want to have leaders who can be a friend, a follower, and a favorite to the Filipino masses in their clamor for a leadership that is “disiplinado,” instead, we get leaders with those attributes loyally directed to a leadership that is “dispalinhado.”

We cannot change the president’s decision, but we can watch every move of these leaders with a critical eye. We should never forget what we see, never falter in calling out their hypocrisy, and never fail to fight for our right to have a disciplined leadership.

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