PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has condemned the police officer who shot a mother and son dead in Paniqui, Tarlac.
In a taped speech, Duterte said Police Senior M/Sgt. Jonel Nuezca should be locked up for shooting and killing Sonya Gregorio, 52, and her son Frank Anthony, 25, after an altercation on Sunday, December 20.
“Ang pagmamahal ko sa trabaho lang natin (My love is for the work we do). You do something which is not — out of the ordinary just pulling a gun and shooting people, you must be… Eh ikulong ninyo ‘yon. Huwag ninyong bitawan ‘yang y*** na ‘yan (Lock him up and do not let him out),” he said Monday night.
He stressed that Nuezca should be detained for committing a serious offense.
“(Nuezca) should not be allowed to go out because double murder ‘yon eh (that’s double murder). Double murder is a serious offense, a grave offense. So from the time you are arrested up to the time that you are hailed to court to answer for the death of those two persons, innocent ones, walang bail ka (you have no bail),” said Duterte.
“So ‘pag nahuli ka, diretso-diretso na ‘yan (when you get caught, you head straight to jail). And I don’t think that you can escape the rigors of justice because nakuha sa TV (it was caught on TV),” he added.
Duterte admitted that he was shocked by the brutality displayed by Nuezca.
“Pati ako napanganga (Even my jaw dropped),” he said.
“That’s unfair and brutal masyado (too brutal). Kung ako ang nandiyan, ewan ko lang (If I were there, I don’t know),” he added.
According to Duterte, he does not condone oppression, noting that some policemen abuse their power.
“I do not like oppression at ‘yang nag-ano ng tao – papahirapan niyo ang tao (and making people suffer).
Usually kasi itong pulis (these policemen) you tend to exhibit your authority even in matters not connected with police work,” he said.
Duterte also described Nuezca as “crazy,” wondering how he passed his neuropsychiatric examinations.
“Isa lang itong klaseng pulis na ‘to. May sakit ito sa utak.
Topak (This policeman is one of a kind. He’s sick in the head. Crazy). And I’m just wondering why he was able to – nakalusot sa (pass the) neuro. You could detect a person by the way he answers in a – ‘yung mga tests sa neuro (in the neuro tests),” he said.
He called for the Philippine National Police to lock Nuezca up.
“I’d like to call the PNP: Be sure that he is detained ha.
He should not be allowed to go out kasi (because that’s a) serious offense ‘yan. There’s no bail,” Duterte said.
The Executive Chief reminded policemen to act in accordance with the law.
“Di ba sinabi ko (Didn’t I say): You do it right, I’m with you. You do it wrong, and there will be a hell to pay.
Iyon ang sinabi ko sa aking (That’s what I said during my) SONA (State of the Nation Address),” Duterte said.
He added, “Do your duty enforce the law. Your actions must be in accordance with the law. You do not follow the law, mag-salvage ka, magpatay ka diyan (if you murder someone), then I’m sorry, that is not part of the agreement of how we should do our work.”
The shooting incident in Tarlac was caught on camera and has gone viral online with the hashtags #StopTheKillingsPH, #JusticeForSonyaGregorio, and #EndPoliceBrutality.
No mercy
Senator Panfilo Lacson, former PNP chief, urged the force to make sure Nuezca rots in jail.
“If what’s on video tells the whole story, I enjoin the Philippine National Police leadership to show no mercy.
They should spare no effort to make sure that he rots in jail. He’s the last policeman that they need in the force,” he said in a statement.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo also condemned the actions of Nuezca.
“This murderous act has no place in any civilized society. That the suspect is a member of the PNP is symptomatic of an incipient cancer that lies in the body of the police force that must be excised instantly,” he said.
“No person of authority, or any person for that matter, has any right or license to unjustifiably kill anyone at will, more so over a petty proprietary dispute triggered by a mere nuisance,” added Panelo.
Isolated case
Philippine Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, meanwhile, said the shooting incident was an isolated case, urging the public not to condemn the whole police force.
“This is an unfortunate but isolated incident. While there are unfortunate incidents like this, the vast majority of our PNP personnel perform their sworn duties everyday with honor and integrity to protect and serve the people,” he said.
“The sin of Nuezca is not the sin of the entire Philippine National Police. As we have seen during this pandemic, they place their very lives on the line as frontliners in our COVID response,” he added.
PNP chief Police General Debold Sinas echoed Año’s sentiment.
“The PNP considers this an isolated act of criminality that does not reflect the PNP’s policies and practice,” he said.
“In no way will such an incident affect the sworn duty of the 221,000 police personnel to serve and protect our people. Our organization remains committed to carry out our mandate and we will always be ready to selflessly provide our people the services that they deserve from their Philippine National Police,” he added.
Sinas also condemned the murders, assuring the victims’ family that justice will be served.
“The PNP leadership strongly condemns to the highest order the criminal act committed by one of our police personnel that had gone viral. Words are not enough to assuage the feelings of the bereaved family of the victims, Mrs Sonia Gregorio and her son, Frank. But we assure them and the Filipino people that justice will be served,” he said.
Culture of impunity
Human rights and civic groups argued that the Tarlac shooting incident was not an isolated case, contrary to what Año and Sinas have said.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy Asia director Phil Robertson, killing was “just the latest incident” of the reality that “many members of the Philippine police are simply out of control.”
“As with many incidents of recent police violence, the killing by Nuezca of Sonya Gregorio and her son Frank was brazen and underscores the impunity that prevails in the Philippines,” he added.
HRW also pointed out that Duterte has excused police misconduct countless times in the past.
“Sunday’s killings in Tarlac province are an inevitable result of the Philippine government’s failure to hold erring law enforcers to account,” it added.
Artist-activist group Dakila likewise said that Duterte has normalized the “culture of impunity” in the country.
“This culture of impunity and violence – normalized by the President himself – has encouraged uniformed personnel to abuse their power and use their force outside duty. Their authority doesn’t give them a license to kill and violate law,” it said.
