A 44-YEAR old police non-commissioned officer on Monday was recorded as the 100th COVID-19 fatality in the Philippine National Police.

The victim passed away on Sunday due to medical complications arising from the virus, a report from the PNP Health Service, said General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar.

According to the PNP chief, the fatality is a Police Staff Sergeant assigned at the Police Regional Office 1 in Ilocos-Pangasinan region.

Although fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, the patient was immuno-compromised with high comorbidity. Relatives of the 100th victim in the PNP said he has been undergoing dialysis due to chronic kidney disease.

“He was also on work-from-home status since the start of the pandemic, however, on August 19, he was rushed to a hospital due to difficulty of breathing and was tested positive of the said virus, and on August 22 he succumbed to death,” Gen. Eleazar ad.

The PNP-HS is also checking the true cause of death of a member of the PNP Highway Patrol Group in Ilocos Sur who died on Saturday afternoon after being confined in a local hospital for seven days. The result of the RT-PCR test conducted on the patient is yet to be released.

The cop reportedly was brought to the hospital due to difficulty of breathing last June 28 but was discharged three days later. Last July 6, he was again taken to the same hospital and stayed there for 12 days.

Last July 26, the patient was scheduled for a spine surgery but the operation did not materialize after the policeman was diagnosed to have a very weak heart. Last Friday, he was taken to the hospital’s intensive care unit due to difficulty of breathing and died the following day.

Gen. Eleazar however said they have also recorded 116 recoveries among the infected personnel bringing the total recoveries to 31,492. Meanwhile, 150 new cases were noted increasing the total number of police personnel infected with the virus to 33,438 since March 2020.

At present, the PNP-HS is monitoring 1,846 ‘active cases’ in the force.

Gen. Eleazar said that as of Monday, a total of 88,940 or 40.03 percent of the force are already ully vaccinated police personnel while 103,623 or 46.64 percent are just awaiting their 2nd dose to complete the inoculation.

With this, there are only 29,606 or 13.33 percent of the PNP’s total strength who are yet to be vaccinated.

The PNP chief has called on his men to be extra cautious as they continue their anti-criminality campaign while strictly enforcing Inter-Agency Task Force minimum public health safety protocols needed to thwart further virus transmissions in Metro Manila and the rest of the country

Records from the PNP Health Service showed that the 1st COVID-19 fatality in the force was a 35-year old Police Corporal from the Highway Patrol Group who succumbed to death on March 25, 2020 while the 99th was a 44-year old Police Lieutenant Colonel from Central Visayas who died on Wednesday last week.

Of the 99 COVID-19 fatalities in the force, the highest-ranked was a Brigadier General assigned in Camp Crame who was already preparing for his retirement when he died in a hospital last April 16. The star-rank official is a product of the PNP Academy.

The others include two Colonels; six Lieutenant Colonels, one Major; four Captains; 12 Lieutenants; 19 Police Executive Master Sergeants; two Police Chief Master Sergeants; eight Police Senior Master Sergeants; four Police Master Sergeants; 23 Police Staff Sergeants; nine Police Corporals; three Patrolman; and five Non-Uniformed Personnel.

Of the 99, eight have already received their 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccines while the rest were yet to be inoculated when they were hospitalized and later died.

Gen. Eleazar and his two top deputies, PNP Deputy Chief for Administration and concurrent Administrative Support for COVID-19 Task Force, Lieutenant Gen. Joselito M. Vera Cruz and PNP Deputy Chief for Operations and concurrent Joint COVID-19 Task Force commander, Lt. Gen. Israel Ephraim T. Dickson have called on their men to take all necessary precautions as they perform their day-to-day duties to keep the streets safe while helping reduce the further spread of the virus especially its more dangerous variants.

Last Friday, Gen. Eleazar announced the death of their 99th COVID-19 victim who happened to be a Lieutenant Colonel from Cebu City.

Citing a report from the PNP Health Service headed by Brigadier Gen. Luisito P. Magnaye, the top cop said that the 44-year old PNPA graduate passed away on Wednesday last week due to Acute Respiratory Failure secondary to COVID-19.

Since last August 1, there have been a total of 20 police personnel who have died after contracting COVID-19.

Most of the fatalities over the past two weeks alone are yet to be given anti-COVID, anti-flu or anti-pneumonia vaccines and were found to be suffering from different comorbidity.

Last month, there were only 80 COVID-19 deaths in the PNP since March last year.

Of the 100 fatalities, six are from the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame; seven from different PNP National Operational Support Units; 22 from different National Operational Support Units; and 66 from the different Police Regional Offices.

The National Capital Region Police Office recorded the biggest number of fatalities with 20 followed by eight from the Police Regional Office 7 in Central Visayas; six from the PRO4-A in Calabarzon region; four each from PRO3 in Central Luzon, PRO6 in Western Visayas, PRO12 in Central Mindanao and PRO9 in Western Mindanao; and three each from PRO10 in Northern Mindanao; PRO11 in Southern Mindanao; and the Bangsamoro Administrative Region.