Maintain faith off drug battle points, says solon

Former Napolcom Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo

MANILA, Philippines — The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) shouldn’t be dragged into former police colonel and resigned Nationwide Police Fee commissioner Edilberto Leonardo’s actions relating to the previous administration’s drug battle, Santa Rosa Metropolis Rep. Dan Fernandez stated.

Fernandez, in a press briefing on Thursday, defined that INC has nothing to do with Leonardo’s decision-making, noting that the steps taken by the previous police official was his personal initiative.

INC discovered itself in the course of talks after former police colonel Royina Garma admitted that then-president Rodrigo Duterte requested her in Might 2016 to recruit a police operative who can lead the drug battle on a nationwide scale, with the rewards system thought of. 

Duterte, in keeping with Garma, needed an INC member to move the duty power as a result of they’re good with dealing with cash

This standards from Duterte, Garma stated, led her to her upperclassman within the Philippine Nationwide Police Academy (PNPA), Leonardo, who can be a former member of the PNP’s Legal Investigation and Detection Group.

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“The members of the Home of Representatives ought to chorus from involving the INC within the subject of what’s being tackled within the quad comm exactly as a result of there’s a separation of church and the state, and on the similar time, the choice made by Leonardo is in his personal volition,” Fernandez stated.

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“As a result of we have now obtained information that after all, some INC members are damage that they’re being dragged into these discussions.  Iglesia ni Cristo isn’t concerned on this subject, because the church was solely talked about when it was talked about that an INC member ought to head the duty power as a result of he is aware of methods to deal with cash correctly,” added Fernandez in Filipino.

Fernandez appealed to his fellow members to keep away from mentioning INC in future hearings in order to not offend church members.

“It simply so occurred that the religion of Leonardo, is with INC.  However that could be very totally different from his duties as a police official.  That’s why my request to our members is to be cautious in mentioning the faith of Leonardo,” added Fernandez. 

The INC was first talked about within the hearings when Garma revealed final October 11 that Duterte instructed her that he prefers having an INC member as head of the duty power on anti-illegal drug operations, that can implement the Davao template.

The Davao template refers to a reward system the place cops who kill drug suspects in operations are given a financial reward starting from P20,000 to as excessive as P1 million.