DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/17 September) — Declaring Police Regional Office-Region 11 Director BGen Nicolas Torre III a persona non grata is “just a statement and a paper” that should be carefully weighed in light of the city’s previous similar declarations, Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr. said.
Torre directed the 16-day hunt for Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy inside the group’s compound in Barangay Buhangin, an operation that Israelito Torreon, Quiboloy’s lawyer, said had turned the place “into a garrison.”
City Mayor Sebastian Duterte also criticized the police operation, calling it a “siege”.
“A persona non grata is just a statement, just a paper, it will not prevent anyone from going in and out of the city… I think the only effect on that when we declare persona non grata is probably, for a government official, is on your performance record, and that if that [record] will be considered in your office,” Quitain said in a press conference Tuesday morning at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
The city council had previously declared as persona non grata three notable personalities in recent memory. These are vice presidential candidate Walden Bello in 2022 for calling the city as the drug center of the country, former senator Antonio Trillanes in 2018 for dubbing Davao “the most dangerous city,” and comedian Ramon Bautista in 2014 for describing Dabawenyas as “hipon,” a Tagalog street slang for a woman with “an attractive body but an unappealing face.”
“Take a look at the situation why they were declared persona non grata, was that they do something clear, something bad for them to be declared persona non grata?” Quitain added, referring to the three aforementioned personalities who were declared as such.
Talks of declaring Torre a persona non grata began when reporters asked city council floor leader Jesus Joseph Zozobrado III about this possibility on September 10.
On the same day, Zozobrado passed a resolution urging the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to investigate the alleged violations committed by the police during the service of warrant against Quiboloy.
This was two days after Quiboloy, together with his four other co-accused Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes were arrested inside the KOJC compound, according to the Philippine National Police.
Paulene Canada, another co-accused, was earlier arrested on July 11 at her residence in Emily Homes Subdivision in Barangay Cabantian here.
In an interview with reporters, Zozobrado said declaring Torre as persona non grata “has no legal consequence” and is just a mere symbolism and nonbinding.
“We can always declare him persona non grata anytime, but what effect would that give sa iyaha (on him), kung di man gihapon siya moila (if he would not recognize it),” he said as quoted in a September 12 article in Sun.Star Davao.
Asked if he shares Zozobrado’s earlier statements, Quitain said the interpretation of the declaration is “really subjective” and “it would really depend on the act.”
Persona non grata is a Latin phrase meaning an “unwelcome person.” Some local government units had passed resolutions declaring certain groups and individuals persona non grata for various reasons, including perceived assaults on community beliefs and practices.
However, in Opinion No. 30 series of 2020, the DILG said that a resolution declaring an individual a persona non grata is a “declaration of the sentiment of the lawmaking body over that person,” and, in the case of a public official, should not interfere with the person’s rights to enter a locality or discharge his or her functions. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
