Major General Debold Sinas, one of Metro Manila’s top cops, has gone viral once again after a man accused him of forcibly evicting them from their Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City home.
In a Facebook post that appeared on Saturday, Arles Delos Santos, a retired policeman’s son, shared photos and videos of the alleged harassment that his family had received from Sinas and his men.
Sinas reportedly wanted to kick Arles’s family from their home because the area was supposedly the property of the Philippine National Police (PNP). However, Arles said that the PNP no longer owns it, and tried to present documents to prove this to an enraged Sinas.
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“My sibling and I showed the documents which he himself signed that proves that the PNP does not have the right to use our land. We have the complete copy of the title, certificate of occupancy, and S.P.A. [special power of attorney] from the owner,” Arles said in English and Filipino.
“We saw that they were holding cameras and they were taking our photos. So I took my cellphone to document what was going on and what they were saying but this was suddenly taken away from me by a cop. That was how shameless they were. They could take photos of civilians like us but we couldn’t take photos of them—they who were accompanied by the SWAT and were armed?” Arles asked.
Arles said that when he tried to take back the documents that he presented to Sinas, a cop named “Rodriguez” tried to stop him by threatening to beat him up.
“[PNP] officials sold this land then you will suddenly say that this is government property…Almost everyday cops would come to our house to try and evict us without presenting any papers. We always talk to them in a proper manner but you use violence. My siblings were traumatized by what had happened,” he said.
Attached in Arles’ post were videos showing what appeared to be Sinas shouting in front of his family, and a policeman covering his cellphone when he attempted to record the confrontation.
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Meanwhile, in his statement yesterday, Sinas insisted that Arles’ family do not have the right to stay in their house, which he said still belongs to the PNP. He said Arnel de los Santos, Arles’ father, was allowed to temporarily live in the facility when he was working as a policeman for “humanitarian consideration.”
“However, it was made clear to him that after his retirement, sufficient timeframe will be provided for him to vacate the premises considering that it is government property. All the while he was cooperative and promised to be compliant with the agreement,” Sinas said about Arnel.
After Arnel retired in November 2018, however, he allegedly refused to leave the area.
“He refused to converse with PNP officials regarding their continued illegal occupancy of the motorpool quarters. Worse, he even brought his whole family together with his married children in the police quarters. Furthermore, despite the request for him to show up that day to settle down the issue, he did not heed the request and instead sent his relatives including his PWD (person with disability) son with photocopies of documents, the authenticity of which is questionable and incapable of being established,” Sinas said.
In a statement last night, Arles rejected Sinas’ version of the issue. He insisted that his father retired from the PNP in November 2019 and that the authorities refused to speak with his parents, contrary to Sinas’ claim.
“My parents are in the province and due to travel restrictions, they cannot easily come home. I bravely insist on facts in hand that PNP personnel came in our house without presenting any legal papers and caused trauma [to our family]. And that every time our parents are not around, the PNP will harass us every time they look for our parents. [But when] our parents will come home to talk to them, the PNP [will] refuse to. They should not lie,” Arles said.
Sinas, the chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, drew widespread public ire when he celebrated his birthday with his men in May, a violation of quarantine rules. He is facing a criminal case in connection with the incident.
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