MANILA — PNP Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa on Wednesday ordered his men to refrain from taking photo or selfies with arrested celebrities involved in illegal drugs.
Dela Rosa said that it was a possible negative impression of special treatment, or double-standard in dealing with rich and famous and poor law offenders.
The PNP Chief made a comment after two policewomen in Pampanga were criticized by netizens in the social media apparently after enjoying a picture-taking moment with actor Mark Anthony Fernandez who was earlier arrested when he yielded more or less a kilo of marijuana in Angeles City.
The photo was taken while all documents were being prepared against Fernandez inside an Angeles City police station hours before the actor’s arrest in a checkpoint.
He noted police personnel should bear in mind that they are members of a law enforcement agency but he understands the two police officers might have been overwhelmed by the presence of Fernandez as a fan of actor.
Dela Rosa added that he would ask the two police officers to explain their side and refer the case to the Internal Affairs Service for any possible administrative violations of the two female cops.
He then warned police personnel to treat the incident as a lesson.
Meanwhile, in their defense, the two cops reportedly stated that they were not the ones who uploaded the photo in the social media. They added that it was taken and later uploaded by a barangay official who happened to be also inside the police station. Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA-northboundasia.com