A female Special Action Force (SAF) trooper who sustained a huge bump on her head after allegedly being hit with a cellphone by Honeylet Avanceña during the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has opted not to file a case against her, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Friday, March 14.
PNP spokesperson Police Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the unidentified SAF trooper acknowledged that what happened to her was part of her job as a police officer.
“She decided not to pursue a direct assault case because she said that things like that are part of the hazards as a law enforcer,” Fajardo said.
The PNP earlier released a video footage showing Avanceña, common-law wife of Duterte, hitting a SAF trooper with her cellphone while law enforcers were tightly securing Duterte at the Villamor Air Base on March 11.
That day, the former president had been arrested by the PNP and Interpol on the strength of a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity over the bloody drug war. He was then brought to a government-chartered jet and flown to the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands.
Fajardo said the injured SAF trooper opted to just recuperate and take a step back from further taking emotional stress that could possibly be brought by pursuing legal steps against Avanceña.
She noted that the PNP would shoulder all the medical fees incurred by the SAF trooper.
The trooper will also be awarded with the PNP “Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting” which is given to police officers “for having been wounded in action against an enemy as a direct result of an act of the enemy,” as well as a three-day leave.
After recovering, the injured SAF trooper told the PNP that she would be ready to go back to work.
Avanceña and the Duterte camp have yet to address the issue.
However, Avanceña previously asserted that the PNP’s arrest of Duterte was “illegal”. (Martin Sadongdong)
