Napolcom fires QC cop who threatened ICC over Duterte arrest
The National Police Commission (Napolcom) has dismissed from the service a Quezon City police officer who went viral for a post on social media threatening the International Criminal Court (ICC) for ordering the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a statement on Thursday, Napolcom said that Patrolman Francis Steve Fontillas was “found guilty of grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a police officer and also disloyalty to the government.”
The dismissal of Fontillas, according to Napolcom, was approved unanimously by the commission en banc.
The panel was composed of Vice Chair and Executive Officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan, Commissioners Josephus Angan, Beatrice Aurora Vega-Cancio and Ricardo Bernabe III, and the office of the PNP chief as ex-officio commissioner.
“Aside from dismissal, the Napolcom en banc also meted out the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from public service,” it said.
The Quezon City Police District has said that Fontillas officially resigned from the Philippine National Police on April 10.
No escaping liability
“Since Fontillas was already formally charged in the Napolcom before his resignation, the Napolcom already acquired jurisdiction over his person,” Calinisan said.
“Thus, no matter what Fontillas claims, he cannot conveniently escape liability through resignation, and was thus made liable, as he should be,” he added.
In a series of Facebook posts on March 11, the day Duterte was arrested, Fontillas went on a rant against the ICC and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
“To ICC and Interpol, don’t even lay your finger on our”tatay” (father) Digong or else we will start the war that you can’t even imagine. This is not a warning; this is a threat!” he said.
Calinisan earlier said the police commission would examine the PNP’s recruitment process and annual neuropsychiatric evaluation and look for ways to improve the system.
“While we wanted to be kind given Fontillas’ condition, the paramount interest of the Filipino people is what is at stake,” Calinisan said.
He assured the public that Napolcom would “go hard against rogue cops who would tarnish the uniform and erode the public trust.”
“With the midterm elections drawing near, let this case against Fontillas serve as Napolcom’s stern warning to any policeman who involves himself in any political activity. Again, strictly no politics in the uniformed service,” he said.
