Ex-cop who threatened ICC, Interpol over Duterte transfer arrested
Authorities have arrested a former Quezon City police officer facing charges over his social media posts, including one in which he threatened the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) over the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In an initial report sent to the media on Tuesday, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said that it arrested dismissed Patrolman Francis Steve Fontillas for inciting to sedition.
“During the arrest, [the] accused was apprised of his constitutional rights in a language known and understood by him,” the QCPD said.
The arrest warrant was issued by Zita Marie Atienza-Fajardo, the presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 224 who recommended bail of P36,000 for Fontillas’ temporary release.
The case against Fontillas, a vlogger and avid Duterte supporter, was based on his posts on social media that criticized the government following the arrest of the former president on March 11. One of his posts read: “To ICC and Interpol, don’t even lay your finger on our ‘Tatay’ Digong or else we will start the war that you can’t even imagine. This is not a warning; this is a threat!”
This led to the QCPD filing a complaint against Fontillas before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office for violating Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code (inciting to sedition) in relation to Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Earlier reported by the QCPD to be assigned to its District Personnel and Holding Admin Section, Fontillas was declared Awol (absent without official leave) in March following the filing of the case.
The National Police Commission, however, ordered his dismissal from the service in May after it found him “guilty of grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a police officer, and disloyalty to the government.”
‘No need to issue warning’
For Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III, there was no need to warn like-minded police officers as he emphasized that Fontillas was the only law enforcer who threatened to go to war over Duterte’s arrest.
“Well, I would like to think that Fontillas is just a very, very small exception, an aberration to the organization, and we have 220,000 people,” Torre told reporters.
“I don’t think that he has any following in the PNP so there is no need to warn or remind our personnel. We know that the PNP is professional,” he added.
