Ping to PNP: Fire trigger-happy cops
7 policemen among 23 cited for illegal discharge of firearms during holidays
Fire the “scumbags!” Sen. Panfilo Lacson posted on his Twitter account Tuesday, referring to at least seven policemen whowere caught firing their guns during the holiday season.
“What if someone got hit and died, or (became) paralyzed? Damn these scumbags! They have no purpose in life, really. Give them the boot Asap, Chief,” tweeted Lacson, who headed the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2001.
Rogue cops “do not deserve to stay a minute longer in the police service,” the senator said, adding that the PNP needed to sustain its internal cleansing efforts.
Indiscriminate firing
On Wednesday, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, Director Guillermo Eleazar, said “criminals, whether rich or poor, as well as police scalawags, are now being apprehended” so that the “pub- lic gets to trust their policemen even more.”
PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde earlier said that seven police officers were facing administrative cases for indiscriminate firing during the holidays.
The PNP said the seven were among 23 “trigger-happy gun holders” who were involved in 26 reported incidents of illegal discharge of firearms between Dec. 16, 2018 and early morning of Jan. 1.
The first case of indiscriminate firing by a police officer was recorded in Caloocan City on Christmas Eve and involved PO1 Danilo Tiempo, who fired two service firearms due to an alleged altercation with gamblers. Seven others were injured in the incident.
Tiempo, who was assigned at the Navotas Police Station, was charged with three counts of attempted homicide and faces an administrative case for grave misconduct, the NCRPO said.
Two days later, PO1 Agustin Cedillo of the Makati City police became the subject of complaint when he fired his gun in the air and threatened bystanders at Bagong Tanyag, Taguig City.
Earlier, on Dec. 20, PO3 Cesar Tolentino, whowas assigned in Basilan, discharged his .9-mm pistol in a residential area at Barangay 57, Caloocan City. No one was reported hurt.
Relieved
All three policemen had been relieved from service and were administratively and criminally charged, the NCRPO said, adding that the shooting incidents in Caloocan and Taguig were criminal in nature and had nothing to do with merrymaking.
The Manila Police District said no police officer in Manila had been involved in indiscriminate firing during the holiday season.