Duterte on Tarlac killer cop: Too brutal, pakainin ng COVID

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered authorities to make sure Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca remains in jail after he was caught on video killing two of his neighbors--a mother and her son-- in Paniqui, Tarlac over the weekend.

In a briefing on Monday night, Duterte said Nuezca must be crazy, adding that the shooting incident was too brutal.

"Topak... Ewan ko ba't nakalusot," Duterte said of the policeman.

"Pakainin niyo ng COVID ‘yung ulol na ‘yun," he added

Duterte said the shooting to death of Nuezca's neighbors--Sonya and Frank Gregorio--was "too brutal."

"From the time you are arrested up to the time that you are haled to court… walang bail ka. ‘Pag nahuli, diretso diresto na ‘yan and I don’t think that you can escape the rigors of justice because nakuha sa TV. Pati ako napanganga," Duterte said.

"Walang kwenta. That’s unfair and brutal masyado. Kung ako ang nandyan ewan ko lang," he added.

The Chief Executive also warned uniformed personnel that they will lose his support if they break the law in their performance of their duties.

“You do it right, I’m with you. You do it wrong and there will be hell to pay. ‘Yun ang sinabi ko sa aking SONA,” he said. “Your actions must be in accordance with the law. You do not follow the law… I’m sorry, that is not part of the agreement.”

Nuezca shot the victims after a heated confrontation that stemmed from Frank's use of the loud, improvised firecracker “boga.”

Relatives of the victims said they had previously clashed with Nuezca over issues concerning right-of-way and a plot of land that the cop purchased from the Gregorios.

Police data also showed that Nuezca was the subject of six administrative complaints between 2010 and 2019, including two that involved homicide.

‘Enabling environment for violence’

The Human Rights Watch said such killings were the “inevitable result” of the government’s failure to hold erring law enforcers accountable and the “enabling environment for police violence that Duterte himself has encouraged.”

Earlier this year, the Commission on Human Rights also called for a halt to the “harmful rhetoric from the highest levels of authority” to end the culture of impunity in the country.

Tarlac Provincial Police director Police Colonel Renante Cabico had said Duterte ordered policemen to carry their guns even when off-duty in case of untoward incidents.

"Lahat po ng member ng PNP ay may issued-firearms po, short firearms, binibitbit po nila 'yan... Actually nagkaroon po ng directive si Presidente noon na 'yung mga off-duty, they are allowed to carry their firearms,” Cabico said.

Senator Panfilo Lacson urged police to turn in their firearms before going off-duty following the incident.

Nuezca has been indicted for two counts of murder by the Provincial Prosecutor of Tarlac earlier on Monday. -NB, GMA News