BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) thumbed down a proposal to disarm police officers during their rest days.
According to Police Lieutenant Abegael Donasco, NOCPPO spokesperson, disarming off-duty cops would be disadvantageous, pointing out they won’t be able to immediately respond to crimes in their areas.
The proposal was spurred by recent controversies involving policemen such as the recent killing of an unarmed woman in Quezon City last week and the murder of two people in Paniqui, Tarlac in December last year.
The proposal would put the lives of off-duty cops in danger, according to Donascom, as they would become vulnerable targets of lawless elements.
Donasco further pointed out that since Police Colonel Romy Palgue assumed office as director of the NOCPPO, there has been no incident of off-duty cops attacking someone due to a feud or misunderstanding.
Last month, a drunken Police Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan shot to death 52-year-old Lilybeth Valdez outside a sari-sari store in Fairview, Quezon City.
Police believed the murder stemmed from a fist fight between Zinampan and Valdez’s son on May 1.
December last year, Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca also gunned down 52-year-old Sonya Gregorio and his 25-year-old son Frank in Paniqui, Tarlac. A long-standing feud between Nuezca and the Gregorio family was believed to have been the motive in the killings.
These incidents triggered calls from various groups and politicians to disarm police officers whenever they are off-duty.
Philippine National Police chief General Guillermo Eleazar already bucked the proposal, saying it would really be disadvantageous to the police force./PN
