Call triggers gunplay

Authorities on Tuesday reported that a commander of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) was shot dead by a subordinate inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Monday afternoon.

Initial reports revealed that the victim, identified as Major Emerson Palomares was killed by Master Sergeant Sanwright Lobhoy after a “heated confrontation.” Palomares is the commanding officer of the 125 SAF Force Service Batallion or FSB.

According to police, investigation disclosed that the victim and the suspect had a heated confrontation inside the office of the commanding officer, which resulted to Lobhoy shooting the major.

The suspect was immediately arrested in Camp Bagong Diwa, where SAF is based, while Palomares was rushed to the Sabili Hospital then transferred to the Parañaque City Doctors Hospital for treatment, but he was pronounced dead at around 5:23 pm.

Meantime, the incident was tagged as a “crime of passion” after it was later revealed that jealousy drove Lobhoy to kill Palomares, according to Taguig City police chief Colonel Alex Santos. Santos said that Lobhoy became jealous after he discovered that his wife had called Palomares prior to the argument which led to the fatal shooting.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Major

General Guillermo Eleazar, on the other hand, stressed that the police force should undergo a periodic neuro-psychiatric exam to ensure that incidents like that will never happen again.