Eleazar assures justice for mentally-ill man slain in Manila
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar on Wednesday assured that justice will be served on a purported mentally-ill man who was shot dead by a barangay ‘tanod’ in Tondo, Manila.
He also said that the suspect identified as Cesar Panlaqui will be facing criminal charges for murder and violation of Republic Act 10591 or the. Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013 if it would be found out that he was in possession of an unlicensed gun.
Gen. Eleazar maintained that barangay security personnel are not authorized to bear firearms unless they have been issued a License to Own and Possess Firearms, a Firearm Certificate of Registration and a Permit-to-Carry-Firearm-Outside-of-Residence.
Panlaqui was arrested by the Manila police for shooting to death Eduardo Geñoga who was allegedly making noise during curfew hours in Tondo.
“Nasa kustodiya na ng Manila Police District at naghahanda na rin ng mga karampatang kaso ang ating kapulisan upang mapanagot ang barangay tanod na nakapatay ng isa nating kababayan sa Maynila,” said Gen. Eleazar.
“Kasama sa iimbestigahan ay kung bakit may baril itong barangay tanod at kung ito ba ay rehistrado. Kung lalabas sa imbestigasyon na hindi rehistrado ang baril na nakumpiska kay Panlaqui ay haharap pa siya sa karagdagang kaso ng illegal possession of firearm,” he added.
Gen Eleazar expressed deep sympathy to the family of Geñoga and promised that justice will be served for his death” “Tututukan natin ang kasong ito at makakaasa ang pamilya ng biktima na gagawin natin ang lahat na legal na paraan upang mapanagot ang maygawa nito,” He said.
Following the incident, the PNP chief reminded all law enforcers of the rules of engagement and other operational procedures of the PNP, especially that thousands of policemen have been deployed to enforce the quarantine rules.
“Walang kaugnayan sa pagpapatupad ng curfew ang nangyaring inisdente sa Maynila but just the same, we remind our personnel to always observe our protocols especially in dealing with civilians, particularly in the enforcement of the ECQ in Metro Manila and other areas,”the top cop said.
“In the enforcement of minimum public health safety standards and ECQ rules in Metro Manila, we always remind our law enforcers to observe maximum tolerance on quarantine violators. Hindi dapat humantong sa paggamit ng dahas ang paninita sa mga violators,” he stressed.
Gen. Eleazar likewise ordered police commanders to make sure that no barangay tanods would be allowed to carry guns especially in the enforcement of the quarantine rules.
Barangay peace and order officers or ‘tanods’ are among the force multipliers in the implementation of quarantine rules in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
