PNP eyes dismissal of cop in Tarlac shooting in 30 days

Aside from dismissal from the service, Nuezca will be barred from working in the government because his eligibility will be forfeited. (File Photo: Paniqui Municipal Police)

MANILA – The Internal Affairs Service (IAS) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said it aims to complete within a month the dismissal proceedings for the police officer who shot dead a mother and her son in Paniqui, Tarlac.

“Kaya ngayon susubukan naming tapusin ng 30 days yan (So now, we are trying to finish it within 30 days),” PNP-IAS Director General Alfegar Triambulo said in a radio interview.

Triambulo said he would go to Tarlac to personally monitor the case of Senior Master Sgt. Jonel Nuezca, who went berserk and shot dead his neighbors, Sonya Gregorio and her son Frank Anthony on Sunday.

Triambulo said the video taken during the incident is a big factor in the course of the investigation.

Aside from dismissal from the service, Nuezca will be barred from working in the government because his eligibility will be forfeited.

Hours after the incident, Nuezca surrendered to the Rosales, Pangasinan police.

Nuezca is now facing charges for two counts of murder and an administrative case.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Noriel Rombaoa, the chief of Paniqui Municipal Police Station said the argument rooted over the use of “boga” of Frank while under the influence of liquor until the land issue came up.

He said Nuezca was apparently trying to arrest Frank but his family members stopped him.

“‘Yun pong kay Gregorio dahil bawal po ang boga at nakainom siya, ‘yun siguro ‘yung naisip niya kaya iaaresto niya. ‘Yun nga, hindi sumama. Dapat doon, ang action niya doon, tumawag siya sa police station for backup at kami ‘yung nandito na PNP na naka-assign para kami ‘yung magpatupad ng batas (As for Gregorio, boga is prohibited and he was drunk. He refused to go with him (Nuezca). Nuezca should have called or back up from a police station and then we would respond to enforce the law),” Rombaoa said in a television interview.

Rombaoa vowed that Nuezca will be treated fairly like other criminals.

“What Senator (Panfilo) Lacson said was right. There should be no mercy. You have seen what happened in the incident. Who would not get furious because of that? We, at the PNP, should be the protector of the community. Our mandate is to serve and protect,” he added.

More good cops

Meanwhile, PNP spokesperson, Brig. Gen. lldebrandi Usana dismissed the incident as an isolated act of criminality that does not reflect the PNP’s policies and practice.

“If you would look into it, the PNP has 221,000 members and those who committed violations do not even amount to 5 percent. So we still have more good cops. Many of us have the primary interest of serving the nation and we have done so much for the people which other employees of the government cannot do,” Usana said in a Laging Handa press briefing.

He added that the negative stereotyping of the PNP due to the act of a sole police officer is unfair.

“Well, the PNP has also spoken as regards the position of the organization with regard to the bill as regards to the death penalty. We are in support of that in fact, even in the case of Nuezca, if he deserves that death penalty, then the PNP has already spoken that such a case deserves death penalty,” he stressed.

Usana also confirmed on Tuesday that the chief of police of the Bato municipal station in the province Catanduanes was relieved from his post following his remarks on the shooting incident involving a police officer in Paniqui, Tarlac which drew flak from the netizens.

Usana said sacked Bato municipal police station chief, Capt. Ariel Buraga will be subject to investigation noting that the agency has a policy with regards to posting on social media.

Buraga is in hot water over his remarks which he posted on his Facebook account, implying victims were to be blamed.

The footage of the incident went viral and has added up to the tainted image of the PNP.

In his post, Buraga said the public, even the elderly, should learn to always respect policemen.

Buraga deleted his post but not until it drew flak from netizens.

Bato municipal mayor Juan Rodulfo sought Buraga’s removal as the town’s police chief.

Rodulfo recognized the policemen’s rights in expressing their opinion but he noted that they should exercise restraint and prudence in doing so.