On Saturday, September 11, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea of Malacañang confirmed the appointment of former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Debold Sinas as Undersecretary of the Office of the President. Known as one of the Duterte administration’s gravest human rights offenders, this decision was condemned by government critics as records show numerous atrocities committed and worsened impunity under Sinas’ term.
Sinas held his post as PNP Chief for six months before stepping down when he reached the age of mandatory retirement. The retired officer’s most well-known controversy is his “mañanita” birthday party that was held in May 2020 despite the implementation of stringent lockdown measures.
During his six-month term, Sinas requested that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) enforce the requirement of national police clearances from workers. The policy was proposed to gain pertinent information on individuals for transactions related to labor, yet the request was made during a period of crackdown on activists and unionists. DOLE Secretary Silvestre Belo III duly rejected the policy in consideration of its possible violations on the people’s constitutional right to organize.
Previously, Sinas served as the Metro Manila Police chief from July 2018 until October 2019, during which cases of police abuse and brutality towards violators of community quarantine guidelines were heightened. Sinas has been an active defender of human rights violations by state forces, including the killing of Winston Ragos and Sinas’ statement warning individuals against taking videos of crimes following the murder of Sonya and her son, Frank Anthony Gregorio at the hands of Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca. Moreover, Sinas was also witnessed harassing a family in Taguig in an attempt to evict them from an old police compound.
Meanwhile, during his one-year term as Central Visayas Police Chief that preceded his appointment at the National Capital Region Office (NCPRO), Sinas has been a co-conspirator to Duterte’s inhumane War on Drugs. According to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), there was a marked increase in violence and unresolved killings linked to anti-communist counter-insurgency operations and illegal drug trafficking when Sinas assumed his post in Cebu. CHR-7 chief investigator Leo Villarino also reported that investigations into the said killings were blocked and thus incomplete.
Incumbent president Duterte has time again shown preference for Sinas and has publicly expressed his support for the officer, exposing the administration’s continued tolerance towards human rights violators and the evident impunity ingrained in the system.
Featured Image by Manila Bulletin
