THE foreign national in a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) uniform interacting with the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) newly appointed city director, who was shown in a video that went viral, is allegedly a ‘stakeholder’ of the security agency for over five years now.
SMNI News Channel, who posted the video on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 during the 39th Kadayawan send-off ceremony at DCPO grounds, claimed that the person was an American citizen having a conversation with chief Colonel Hansel Marantan.
DCPO spokesperson Captain Hazel Tuazon immediately provided details with the local media, saying that the person was a Lebanese national named Zouheir Ternanni and has been active in DCPO’s internal and external events.
“Isa sa mga stakeholders dati. Nagahatag na [siya] para sa mga bata ug mga pack meals pud (He was one of the stakeholders before. He spearheaded a food meal giving activity to children),” Tuazon said.
Meanwhile, as of press writing, SunStar Davao has yet to receive a reply from NBI-Southern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-Semro) to confirm if Ternanni is one of their consultants.
This is also to clarify if Ternanni is a member and is authorized by the regional intelligence agency to wear their uniform as Article 179 or Illegal use of uniforms or insignia may result in a penalty of arresto mayor.
Following the trending video, the individual who has been married with a Filipina wife penned a post on his Facebook account.
“Never argue with a liar. You can't win because they believe their own lies,” he shared.
Currently, the video received mixed reactions among netizens with several Facebook users collectively claiming that the person was a spy operative, further questioning the role of Philippine National Police (PNP) intelligence unit.
“Filipinos are officially invaded,” one Joseph Mark Malusay said.
“Level up na ang pulis sa Davao, may Afam (Police in Davao is level up already. They have Afam),” a social media user Luisa Minguillan wrote.
“Kala ko basketball lang ang may import (I thought import only exists in basketball),” one Arjan Musa shared. DEF