A complaint for two counts of murder has been filed against the police corporal allegedly involved in the killing of an Ilocos Norte barangay councilor and his partner, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
The attack took place last Sunday afternoon. The corporal was identified as one of the suspects and arrested by police later that evening.
‘Last Oct. 20, a case against the corporal was filed for two counts of murder and one count of frustrated murder. He is currently detained and committed at the Ilocos Norte Provincial Jail,’ PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Thursday. ‘The administrative case against him commenced on Oct. 21, 2025. Acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. gave the order to the IAS Region 1 for his summary dismissal proceedings,’ he added.
The PNP did not identify the police corporal arrested, only saying he was assigned to the Tourist Police Unit of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office.
Kagawad Joshua Bernardo, 26; his partner Eloisa Bonilla, 30; and his cousin Mark John Bernardo, 25, were eating at the porch of their home when the police corporal and another suspect on a motorcycle opened fire on them and fled the scene last Sunday afternoon.
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Bernardo died on the spot, while Bonilla was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. Bernardo’s cousin was brought to the hospital for treatment.
‘In 2010, the suspect and the female victim were in a relationship. They broke up in 2012. They have since had their own families. The motive was jealousy,’ Tuaño explained.
He added that the motorcycle used was from the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office’s camp, based on testimonial evidence and closed-circuit television footage. /mr