The Philippine National Police (PNP) began dismissal proceedings against a corporal – whom it did not name – for his alleged involvement in the killing of an Ilocos Norte barangay councilor and his partner.
The attack on kagawad Joshua Bernardo, 26, and his partner Eloisa Bonilla, 30, took place last Sunday afternoon. The corporal was identified as one of the suspects and arrested by police later that evening, according to the PNP.
‘[Acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.] has ordered the start of the summary dismissal proceedings against a police corporal tagged in the killing of a barangay kagawad and his partner in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte,’ the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.
‘Appropriate criminal and administrative charges will be filed against a police corporal assigned to the Tourist Police Unit of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office,’ it added. The PNP further said its watchdog Internal Affairs Service will coordinate with the local police for an administrative investigation against the police corporal tagged in the case.
Bernardo and Bonilla were eating with a certain Mark John Bernardo, 25, at the porch of their home when two men on a motorcycle without a license plate opened fire on them and fled the scene. The village councilor died on the spot, while his partner was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The third victim was brought to the hospital for treatment.
The PNP did not mention how the pair was related to the third victim. /das