Pangasinan town police chief axed after joining mayor’s birthday celebration

MANILA, Philippines – The police chief of Santo Tomas, Pangasinan, was relieved of his duties Friday, May 15, after reports came out that he joined the birthday celebration of the town mayor despite the ban on mass gatherings, the requirement for physical distancing, and overnight curfew in the coronavirus-hit province.

Colonel Redrico Maranan, Pangasinan provincial chief, said Police Captain Peter Raul Sison admitted he was among those who were in the video clips of the “midnight harana (serenade)” for Santo Tomas Mayor Timoteo “Dick” Villar III on May 6. 

According to Maranan, Sison admitted that he himself handed the birthday cake to Villar. 

The provincial police chief said all of those involved in the incident were being investigated.

Villar, Sison, and some local government officials were caught on camera celebrating the mayor’s birthday with several guests last May 6. Villar’s son, Santo Tomas Councilor Dickerson Villar, uploaded the video clips on Facebook two days later, on May 8.

Mayor Villar later said the gathering at his house was not a celebration nor a party, that the local officials just came to greet him and left immediately, and that physical distancing was observed that night.

Pangasinan was still under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) when the celebration happened. The province will be under modified general community quarantine starting Saturday, May 16, until May 31.

Maranan said the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office is checking the authenticity of the video, although it was originally uploaded by Villar’s son.

The incident came to light days after the National Capital Region Police Office was criticized for holding a mañanita or early morning birthday serenade for their chief, Major General Debold Sinas, amid Metro Manila’s own ECQ.

As of Friday, the Philippines has 12,091 coronavirus cases, with 806 deaths and 2,460 recoveries. The number of infections worldwide surpassed 4.4 million while over 302,000 people have died across 196 countries and territories. – with a report from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com