THE Quezon City Police District (QCPD) has apologized to the family of actor Ronaldo Valdez, Ronald James Gibbs in real life, for the lapses it committed in the handling of the investigation of his death last month.
QCPD Director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan issued the apology last Monday night, heeding the demand of Valdez’s son, actor Janno Gibbs, earlier in the day.
Janno demanded that the “PNP and the officers directly accountable for the lapses in the investigation to make a public apology for the breach and trust and the trauma caused to my family.”
Earlier reports said the family driver found Valdez slumped in a chair, oozing with blood. A cal. 45 pistol and a fired cartridge case were found by the police at the crime scene.
A video of the crime scene showing the body of the actor went viral online.
Maranan said he spoke with Janno on the phone last Monday to personally relay his apology to the Gibbs family for the pain caused by the spread of the video on social media platforms.
Maranan said five policemen involved in the controversy have been identified and relieved from their posts.
He said the five are facing administrative charges for grave misconduct and serious irregularity in the performance of duty before the PNP Internal Affairs Service.
Maranan also said they have readied criminal charges against the policemen and four civilians involved in the video going viral.
“We are just waiting for the Gibbs family to file a formal complaint (before the PNP),” said Maranan, adding the PNP will file the case before the court if the Gibbs family wants it.
Maranan assured the public that he would not tolerate any wrongdoing by QCPD personnel.
“Rest assured that under my leadership, any policeman who committed lapses, whether intentionally or unintentionally, will not be tolerated. We will throw the books at them,” he said.
In a statement, the QCPD extended its “sincere apologies to the Gibbs family regarding the recent incident where a member of our police force inappropriately took a video of the late Mr. Ronaldo Valdez.
“We acknowledge the gravity of this lapse in judgment of some of our personnel, and we deeply regret any distress this may have caused,” the QCPD said.
It said it is taking “swift and decisive action” against the policemen involved, adding: “We want to emphasize that this behavior is not reflective of the values we uphold in QCPD.
“We assure you that such incidents will not be tolerated, and we are implementing stricter measures to prevent their recurrence.”
