3 police officers killed in shootouts with law enforcers
Three police officers were shot dead in separate incidents by law enforcers earlier this week. One of the cases took place in Abra province over a misconduct complaint while the other occurred in Marilao, Bulacan, and involved a Caloocan City police officer who was accused of robbing a convenience store.
Philippine National Police public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño, in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Wednesday, did not identify the police officers involved in the Abra shooting.
The incident occurred at the provincial police’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Group (EOD K9) barracks in Bangued on Nov. 10.
The first victim was a staff sergeant who had reported for misconduct his superior, a lieutenant.
“While the staff sergeant was brushing his teeth, the lieutenant left his room and shot the staff sergeant four times,” Tuaño said.
The gunshot was heard by a senior master sergeant who went out of his room to see what was happening. The lieutenant also fired at him but missed and the senior master sergeant fired back, hitting him once in the chest, Tuaño added.
Dead on arrival
Both the staff sergeant and the lieutenant were declared dead on arrival at a nearby medical facility while the senior master sergeant surrendered to authorities.
As for the motive, Tuaño said the first victim had reported that his superior was drunk every time he responded to a police call or went on patrol.
“Following standard operating procedure whenever there is a fatality, a homicide case will be filed against the police senior master sergeant who shot the police lieutenant. He will have the opportunity to defend himself to justify his action,” he told reporters.
As for the other case, the police officer from Caloocan City was killed in a shootout by responding law enforcers less than 30 minutes after he robbed a convenience store in Marilao, Bulacan, on Nov. 11.
Bulacan police director Col. Angel Garcillano told reporters in a briefing at Camp Crame on Wednesday that the suspect was tracked down through footage taken by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
The police officer allegedly held up an Alfamart branch and fled on a motorcycle later confirmed to be registered under his name.
According to Garcillano, the suspect was seen changing clothes in a nearby barangay after the robbery, apparently to avoid detection.
Incriminating evidence
“He went out to change and took off his jacket and pants but his slippers and motorcycle were still the same,” he said.
Investigators recovered P20,000 in cash from the suspect’s motorcycle, with the denominations and handwritten notes matching those taken from the convenience store’s vault.
“You can see the cashier’s hand notes … and [these were] recovered from the suspect’s motorcycle,” Garcillano said. “The motorcycle was registered under his name but during the robbery, it had no license plate.”
The police also believe that the officer may have attempted to hold up another establishment shortly after the first robbery.
Garcillano added that the suspect was believed to have robbed other targets earlier this year, including convenience stores, coffee shops and gasoline stations in Marilao, Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte City.
The suspect, a resident of San Jose del Monte, was positively identified by the Alfamart store clerk who accompanied the police while they were tracking him down.
National Capital Region Police Office spokesperson Maj. Hazel Asilo said in the same press briefing that the officer had no administrative cases based on their records.
She added that initial background checks showed the suspect and his wife had operated small scale businesses that went bankrupt during the pandemic.
“That’s one of the possible reasons why he was in financial trouble,” she said. “He was a bit behind in the payment of loans.”
Authorities have yet to release the officer’s name pending notification of his family.
