MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday, March 26, urged dismissed cop Eduardo Acierto to file a formal complaint on the supposed death threats he had received so it can protect him.

PNP spokesman Colonel Bernard Banac said Acierto made the statement in a news briefing, in response to questions about Acierto. 

“Patungkol naman sa banta sa buhay niya, ni Colonel Acierto, ang masasabi natin ay sana ay naipahayag niya ito at maisumite bilang formal complaint nang sa gayon ay matugunan natin kung talaga bang may banta sa kanyang buhay,” he said.

(On the threats to his life, of Colonel Acierto, what we can say is he should submit it as a formal complaint so that we can respond to it if there are really threats to his life.)  

Veteran anti-drug cop Acierto recently resurfaced after spending months in hiding. In a press conference with select reporters, Acierto accused President Rodrigo Duterte and the PNP of ignoring his intelligence report linking presidential adviser Michael Yang to illegal drugs. The PNP cleared Yang of such links.

Acierto went into hiding after he was implicated in the multibillion-peso shabu (methamphetamine) shipment controversy, where he had been tagged as the “mastermind.”

Banac assured Acierto that if he would decide to file the complaint, police would treathim fairly despite his allegations against the government.

“Kahit sino naman po, kahit sinong mamamamayan na mangangailangan ng tulong at kailangan ng proteksyon ang gagawin lang naman po ay lumapit sa ating authorities sa ating police (Whoever needs help or protection, all they need to do is approach our authorities, our police),” Banac said.

Acierto, however, did not trust in getting fair treatment as of now.

“I will come out once I know that there is justice and fairness. At present, there is no level playing field for me,” Acierto earlier said. – Rappler.com