Patrolman Francis Steve Fontillas, who went viral for his controversial social media posts threatening the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Interpol, had a history of mood swings, according to QCPD spokesperson Capt. Febie Madrid.
“Mayroon na rin naging issue sa mga mood swing niya way back in 2023,” Madrid said in a Teleradyo Serbisyo interview Saturday, adding that Fontillas had prior issues in a previous unit.
Fontillas, who was already assigned to administrative and health monitoring duties, applied for a two-week emergency leave starting March 6, but it remained pending, leading to unexcused absences during the same period.
During this time, Fontillas posted threats online while in police uniform, including a statement that he would wage “war” if the ICC “lay [a] finger” on former President Rodrigo Duterte. He also threatened to arrest President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
He now faces criminal charges for inciting to sedition under the Cybercrime Prevention Act, and administrative charges are being pursued by Napolcom.
Napolcom Commissioner Rafael Vicente Calinisan said Fontillas reported back to QCPD on Thursday, “crying and extremely apologetic,” promising to stop posting seditious content and hate speech. He is now under restrictive custody.
Fontillas declined to give a statement to the media when approached by ABS-CBN News.
Madrid reminded officers to exercise discipline, saying, “We have our own views… but we are in the organization and we have to have this discipline… our freedom of expression is not absolute.”
She added, “Let’s just obey and avoid using the organization and uniform in political matters because we remain to be apolitical.”
