By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan

HURT. A female member of the Special Action Force sustains a head injury while securing the transfer of former president Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague following his arrest upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11, 2025. A video from the Philippine National Police showed that Duterte’s partner, Honeylet Avanceña, hit the female cop to the head with a cellular phone. (Photo from the PNP PIO)

MANILA – A female member of Special Action Force (SAF) is set to file charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte’s common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña, for hitting her as the police secured the transfer of Duterte to a chartered plane that brought him to The Hague in the Netherlands.

In a press briefing at Camp Crame on Thursday, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the SAF member, whom she did not name, was brought to the hospital to treat swelling on her forehead hit by Avanceña’s cellular phone inside Villamor Airbase in Pasay City on March 11.

“Yung pulis na nasaktan at nagkaroon ng injury sa ulo ay magfi-file ng kaso (The police who was hurt and had an injury on the head will file a case),” Fajardo said.

“Mayroon tayong mga video na magpapatunay na pinukpok ni Miss Honeylet yung isang pulis natin na babae na sila ang nag-restrain doon kay Ma’am Honeylet at doon sa kanilang anak para ilayo pansamantala or mag-give way (We have videos that prove that Miss Honeylet beat up one of our female police officers who was the one who restrained Ma’am Honeylet and her daughter [Kitty] to keep them away temporarily or to give way).”

Despite the incident, Fajardo said the PNP exercised maximum tolerance when they served the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant of arrest against Duterte, which was received by the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

Fajardo said nobody from the Duterte’s camp was hurt and “we respected all their rights, including the reading of Miranda rights” and due consideration to Duterte’s medical needs.

Fajardo said Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre, the ground commander during Duterte’s arrest, is also looking into the possible filing of obstruction charges against Duterte’s lawyer, former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

She said Medialdea was handcuffed for delaying the transfer of Duterte to The Hague.

In an interview with ANC on Thursday, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla maintained that Duterte afforded due process.

Remulla said the government gave Duterte’s camp to file a temporary restraining order in the Supreme Court (SC).

“We waited from 11 in the morning ’til 11 at night, 12 hours. So if that is insufficient, then so be it. But we gave them all, the due process,” he said. (PNA)