BY VICTOR REYES and WENDELL VIGILIA
AMID reports he was deported by Canadian authorities, former PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr yesterday said he would face the media “in due time” but was quick to accuse Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, PNP deputy chief for administration, of spreading lies.
Sermonia rejected Azurin’s accusation, and said the latter “may have been fed false stories again to drag my name into the unverified reports of his alleged deportation.”
Sermonia and Azurin, who retired in April, are brothers-in-law and classmates at the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1989.
Earlier yesterday at the House, Nueva Ecija Rep. Joseph Violago, speaking for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), said Azurin was held by immigration authorities upon his arrival at the Langley airport in Canada just a few days ago.
Violago, who sponsored the DFA’s proposed P23-billion budget for 2024, made the revelation in the plenary on the questioning of minority leader Marcelino Libanan but could not comment on reports that Azurin was asked by Canadian authorities about the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.
He said Azurin “voluntarily” returned home after he was intercepted at the airport.
He told the budget deliberations there appeared to have been a “misunderstanding” and “misinterpretation” about what happened, “and the Canadian government expressed their regrets with the miscommunication.”
Azurin, in a message to media, said, indicators show Sermonia was behind the reports on his alleged deportation.
He asked PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr to look into the matter.
“Sermonia has been spreading lies about my alleged deportation… Maybe, it he was he who tipped the Canadian immigration by concocting half-truths… hoping that I will be deported,” he said.
“In due time I will issue my statement and face the media to tell what happened,” he also said.
Sermonia said there was “no reason” for him to spread lies about Azurin.
“We are mistahs (PMA classmates), and he is my brother-in-law,” he said adding any damage to Azurin’s image will affect the image of their family.
“I’d rather not dignify the accusations with a reply that may be construed negatively,” he also said.
He said the public should ask the Canadian embassy what prompted Azurin to “decide to just return to the country as he stated, and not deported.”
“Canada has its own rules and regulations on border control. So, it is best to secure the report from them. The truth will speak for me,” he said.
At the House, Violago said he could not disclose the details to protect Azurin’s privacy. He said the Canadian government “will be the one who will relay the statement to the Philippine Embassy.”
Violago also said the DFA could not extend any assistance to Azurin since he voluntarily returned home.
“Gen. Azurin went to Canada in his private capacity. Since the trip is not official, wala rin pong magagawang assistance just in case (no assistance could be extended, just in case),” he said.
Libanan requested that a report submitted to the office of Speaker Martin Romualdez detailing the incident, stressing it is DFA’s duty to ensure that all distressed Filipinos abroad are given assistance.
He said the issue is very important because like Azurin, former PNP officials can be intercepted in other countries and sent back home just like that.
“Just because you are retired already, the government cannot intervene. It is DFA’s obligation to help Filipino citizens abroad,” he said.
