Pictures of a Special Action Force (SAF) personnel allegedly injured by Honeylet Avanceña, former president Rodrigo Duterte‘s common-law wife, during his arrest on Tuesday, March 11, have gone viral.
News outlets, including the state-controlled Philippine News Agency, reported on Thursday, March 13, that a female SAF officer was wounded after Avanceña allegedly struck her with a mobile phone at Villamor Air Base.
The SAF is the elite mobile unit of the Philippine National Police.
A large lump on the SAF personnel’s forehead can be spotted in the image released by the police.
A video of the incident was also posted by ABS-CBN reporter Michael Delizo, in which Avanceña could be seen hitting a police personnel on her head.
The SAF member went away from the scene after being struck.
The PNP said the cop was brought to a hospital following the incident.
The police said it happened when they detained Duterte in the air base before being flown to the Netherlands, where he will face trial at the International Criminal Court for charges of murder as a crime against humanity.
ALSO READ: ICC takes Duterte into custody to face murder charges for drug war killings
PNP spokesperson P/Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the SAF personnel will file a direct assault complaint against Duterte’s common-law wife.
PNP also said it did not employ “excessive use of force” when it arrested the former president based on a warrant issued by the ICC.
Fajardo explained that they needed to “set aside” Avanceña and their daughter, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, so the police assisting the former president could go near.
She added that the police “exercised maximum tolerance” and maintained that no one got hurt from the side of the Dutertes.
As of Thursday, the former president is already in the Netherlands and was transferred to a detention on the Dutch coast.
RELATED: ICC takes Duterte into custody to face murder charges for drug war killings | What happens next to ex-Philippine president Duterte?
Duterte is expected to be brought before a judge for an initial appearance, during which the allegations will be detailed in court. He will not be asked to enter a plea.
His arrest is seen as a form of vindication for the families of the victims of his bloody anti-narcotics campaign, which left an estimated 12,000 to 30,000 people dead between July 2016 and March 2019, according to the ICC.
The government, however, only acknowledged around 6,248 deaths from his signature “War on Drugs.”
The ICC’s investigation also includes the Davao Death Squad (DDS) killings that occurred between Nov. 1, 2011, and June 30, 2016, during Duterte’s tenure as mayor and vice mayor of the city.
