A criminal complaint was on Friday filed against the chief of the Philippine capital’s police force for violating coronavirus lockdown rules when he attended a birthday party thrown on his behalf.
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The complaint also named 18 other police officials and officers, who attended the May 8, party for Debold Sinas, chief of the Metro Manila police force, at his quarters at a police camp.
The police officials and officers violated a ban on mass gatherings and the mandatory use of face masks during the party, according to the complaint filed by the national police’s internal affairs office.
Sinas has apologised for the party, which he said was a surprise gathering organised by some of his officers and other staff on their own initiative.
Photos circulating on Facebook showed Sinas blowing out a candle on a cake held by someone wearing a mask, and sharing a table with other men not wearing masks.
In other photos, Sinas was seen receiving flowers and a cap, while guests stood next to each other to collect food from a buffet table.
Sinas claimed some of the photos were edited and grabbed from old posts, and did not depict the totality of what really happened.
There are more than 12,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, including 806 deaths, according to the Department of Health.