NAPOLCOM Punishes Ex-PNP Officers for Conduct Unbecoming

The National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) has found two Philippine National Police (PNP) officers guilty of conduct unbecoming after they made defamatory remarks against Iloilo 4th district Rep. Ferjenel Gonzales Biron during a press conference in 2022.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Pinuela and Police Captain Charlie Sustento Jr. were sanctioned in the recently decided administrative case (S.D. Case No. R6-2023-0001) for their statements broadcast via Facebook Live on January 20, 2022.

PLTCOL Pinuela received a six-month suspension while PCPT Sustento was demoted by one rank after both were found to have violated PNP ethical standards, marking the second time Sustento faced disciplinary action for misconduct.

The case stemmed from a press conference covered by DYRI 774/RMN Iloilo, where both officers hurled accusations and expletives against Biron, then a candidate for congressman of the 4th District of Iloilo.

“These are the factor to be considered by these abusive politicians. The police are only working on their obligations, we do, oblige ourselves to do our obligations as policemen,” PLTCOL Pinuela had stated during the controversial interview.

PCPT Sustento had used particularly offensive language, calling Biron “son of a bitch” multiple times while alleging corruption within the Office of the Ombudsman.

“We’ll stop this too much evil, evil behavior of Congressman Biron. We’ll stop this now! I challenge you, we’ll challenge you with the… our classmates. Later on, you will face the consequences for what you are doing to us,” PCPT Sustento was quoted as saying.

The NAPOLCOM decision noted that “although the statements of the Respondents were a candid expression of their views and grievances, the malicious allegations and expletives delivered, however, are found to be of a disgraceful nature reflective of a vitiated character that taints the image of the PNP.”

Biron, a businessman and doctor by profession, had served several terms as congressman and was a candidate for the 4th District of Iloilo in the May 9, 2022 elections when the incident occurred.

According to case records, Biron was in Dumangas, Iloilo attending campaign meetings when he learned about the officers’ televised statements, which he later viewed in recorded form.

The two police officers claimed their statements were protected by their constitutional right to free speech and were made to air grievances against Biron, whom they accused of using connections with the Office of the Ombudsman to file cases against them.

PLTCOL Pinuela claimed he had been previously suspended for six months following an incident where he confronted a security guard working for Biron, leading to a complaint filed before the Ombudsman.

The NAPOLCOM, however, ruled that the officers’ conduct violated Section 1, paragraph 5, Rule 21 of NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular 2016-002, which defines conduct unbecoming as “any act or behavior of a police officer, irrespective of rank, done in his official or private capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing himself as a police officer, seriously compromises his character and standing in the PNP.”

The commission cited the PNP Ethical Doctrine provisions on maintaining a proper image, discipline, and gentlemanliness as standards the officers failed to uphold.

In determining penalties, the commission considered Pinuela’s awards and commendations as mitigating factors, while no such consideration was given to Sustento due to “the gravity of the expletives he directed at Complainant.”

The decision was signed on September 4, 2024, by NAPOLCOM Ex-officio Chairperson and former DILG Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr. and five commissioners.

But the NAPOLCOM decision became moot and academic after Pinuela went on early retirement while Sustento resigned from the PNP in 2023, before the decision was handed down.

Sustento’s History of Misconduct

This is not Sustento’s first brush with disciplinary action, as court records reveal a pattern of controversial behavior.

In 2017, the Office of the Ombudsman found him guilty of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming a police officer in a separate case (OMB-P-A-15-0110) involving a violent confrontation with a RUSI motorcycle dealership employee.

Court records show that in November 2014, Sustento, then head of the Dumangas police station, pointed a gun at and physically assaulted Richard Samontosa who was repossessing a motorcycle due to payment default.

“Sustento later arrived at the RUSI office, shouting and cursing at Samontosa, calling him an idiot for showing disrespect,” according to Ombudsman case documents.

The Ombudsman initially dismissed Sustento from service, but following his appeal, the Court of Appeals reduced the penalty to a one-rank demotion (from police major to captain) in its June 17, 2020 decision.

A subsequent appeal eventually reinstated the dismissal order, with the Court noting, “The CA reaffirmed that the Ombudsman’s power to impose penalties on erring public officers or employees is not merely recommendatory.”

Reports indicate Sustento resigned from the PNP before the dismissal order could be implemented.

More recently, CCTV footage circulating on social media shows Sustento, who has since left the police force, allegedly kicking a driver in an office setting, suggesting continuing behavioral issues despite his separation from service.