Prosecutors urged to assail ‘insanity’ defense in Nuezca case

Iligan City Representative Frederick Siao on Tuesday urged government prosecutors to not let "insanity" be made a defense in the case of dismissed police officer Jonel Nuezca, who was on trial for the killing of Sonya and Frank Gregorio to death in December last year.

In a statement, Siao said that considering that Nuezca pleaded not guilty, it can be expected that his lawyers would push for an insanity defense in court.

"Nuezca’s lawyers will try to put forward the insanity defense. They will try to convince the public that Nuezca 'lost his mind,' had a 'psychotic episode,' or 'nagdilim ang paningin' moments before he shot in the head and instantly killed Sonya Gregorio and Frank Gregorio," he said.

In pushing for the insanity defense, Siao said Nuezca's lawyers could use eyewitness testimony or present a psychologist or even a pastor to state a compassionate assessment of Nuezca's mental health.

They may even use the "nagdilim ang paningin" defense in other situations that are completely different from the shooting incident, he added.

But Siao said the video of the shooting clear and plain to see, and that all the necessary elements of murder are present.

"In my view Nuezca and his lawyers will fail at their insanity defense," he said.

"I hope our government prosecutors will be ready to assail and demolish the insanity defense Nuezca’s lawyers will mount," he added.

Nuezca is facing two counts of murder over the killing of the Gregorio mother and son.

Apart from these charges, he also faced several administrative cases in the past. Last month he was demoted one rank over a case in 2014 when he was reported to have extorted money from a tricycle driver and a passenger when he was still assigned in Taguig.

He also faced a grave misconduct case in May 2019, and a homicide case in December 2019. But both were dismissed due to lack of substantial evidence. — DVM, GMA News