PNP apologizes to Sen. Robin, Muslim communities over 'Muslim' use in Crame hostage drama
Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), clarified on Tuesday, Oct. 11, that the organization meant no disrespect when it used the word Muslim to refer to the three inmates who tried to escape at Camp Crame detention facility on Sunday, Oct. 9.
Azurin also took the lead in apologizing to Senator Robin Padilla and the Muslim communities over the inappropriate use of the word to mean something negative.
"The entire PNP organization would like to apologize to the good Senator Robin Padilla and the entire Muslim community for the inconvenience brought by the interpretation for using the term 'Muslim' to refer to someone committing a crime," said Azurin.
"This was said without any malice to malign the reputation of our Muslim brothers and sisters. Let this be a lesson to educate the entire PNP organization to be more discerning in addressing all sectors in the society with prudency," he added.
Padilla earlier called out the PNP after some of its officials referred to the three inmates as Muslim, the use of word was interpreted to stereotype Muslims as lawbreakers.
The senator also urged the PNP to educate all its personnel especially in terms of dealing with the Muslim community.
Based on the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, five percent of the Philippine population are Muslims, most of them are living in western and central part of Mindanao.
There were also a number of Muslim communities in Metro Manila and other urban areas.
One of the inmates was tagged as a leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group while the two others were members. All of them died during the incident.
The escape attempt also led to the hostage incident involving former senator Leila de Lima.
"Again, we mean no disrespect and we have always considered the Muslim community as our partner in community-building," said Azurin.
"Rest assured that the PNP will always uphold the rule of law in all its actions and will always respect the person's rights regardless of religion, culture and origin," he added.