NBI-11 regional director Arcelito Albao shows the official NBI uniform that they use during operations, saying it is different from what Lebanese national Zouheir Ternanni wore during a police event in Davao City on July 30. Ternanni was reported by Sonshine Media Network Inc. as an American talking with acting police city director Colonel Hansel Marantan. MindaNews photo by IAN CARL ESPINOSA
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 02 August) — No charges will be filed against a Lebanese national who wore a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) uniform during the sendoff ceremony for the safety and security forces for the 39th Kadayawan Festival at Davao City Police Office (DCPO) grounds on Tuesday, an official said.
In an interview Friday morning, NBI-11 regional director Arcelito Albao said Zouheir Ternanni will not be charged for “usurpation,” as he “did not wear the official uniform of the NBI,” although the shirt bore the agency’s initials.
Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code prohibits a person from committing usurpation, or misrepresentation knowingly and falsely as an “officer, agent or representative of any department or agency of the Philippine Government or of any foreign government, who, under pretense of official position, shall perform any act pertaining to any person in authority or public officer of the Philippine Government or of any foreign government, or any agency thereof, without being lawfully entitled to do so.”
Usurpation is punishable by minimum and medium periods of prisión correccional, or jail time from six months to two years and four months.
“Pang-meeting nga uniform iyang gisuot, logo ra man to. Kadto iyang suot ordinary nga t-shirt ra… tas dili pa gyud among region to (He wore a uniform intended for meetings, it was only a logo. He wore an ordinary t-shirt, and it was not from our region),” Albao said.
Albao said he personally warned Ternanni, who is a “long-time stakeholder” of the police forces and other national offices, to not wear an NBI uniform again “so that he will not deceive people”.
The regional director also said he already surrendered the foreigner’s NBI uniform to the main office.
“He is a known stakeholder, he is always there whenever there are events. He is a known helper of our community,” Albao said in Cebuano.
The official was reacting to a Facebook reel from Sonshine Media Network Inc. (SMNI), a network founded by fugitive pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, which claimed that an “American national” was spotted talking with DCPO director Colonel Hansel Marantan.
The reel, which was posted Tuesday afternoon, had 687 reactions, 265 comments and 423 shares as of August 2.
Albao said SMNI mistakenly identified Ternanni as an American, and that “he is not from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, nor a spy, nor a secret agent”.
Meanwhile, Police Regional Office-Region 11 spokesperson Catherine Dela Rey also told MindaNews that Ternanni was a former DCPO stakeholder who helped with community activities.
“Tanan law enforcement agencies kay naa siya [sublimation] na shirt (He has all sublimation shirts from different law enforcement agencies),” Dela Rey said.
In his Facebook account, the Lebanese national re-shared his videos participating in police regional events, including one that shows former PRO-11 chief Brigadier General Alden Delvo calling him “a good friend and a stakeholder.”
“This is me …… I like tell to who’s make fake news about me check my bacround first before you post [sic],” the caption of his post said that he shared Friday morning said. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
