Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año maintained Wednesday that police officers who commit heinous crimes must be punished with the death penalty.
In an interview over GMA News, Año stressed that these cops must be put on the death row if only the death penalty is reimposed in the country.
Explaining further, Año said that the death penalty can be meted out to those convicted of
drug related crimes referring to drug lords, drug syndicates and other heinous crimes committed by the men in uniform.
Reimposing the death penalty drew interest anew after Police M/Sgt Jonel Nuezca shot to death a mother and her son in Paniqui, Tarlac in the midst of a heated argument last December 20.
But the administration explained that the revival of the death penalty lies in the hands of Congress with some lawmakers already expressing support for it.
The DILG also confirmed that Nuezca was demoted by the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) for a grave misconduct complaint filed in 2014.
DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that the NAPOLCOM En Banc headed Año issued the decision on October 21, 2020 imposing the penalty of one rank demotion to Nuezca for robbery-extortion.
The implementation order has been issued by the NAPOLCOM Central Office.
Malaya said “that the complainant alleged that on March 8, 2014, at around 3:00 in the morning, the complainant’s son was on his way home on board a tricycle when respondents, Nuezca and some fellow police officers, forced her son inside a police vehicle.’’
He noted that the tricycle driver was instructed to follow the said vehicle to the police station located at C-5, Taguig City.
At the police station, Malaya said the respondents threatened the complainant’s son and the tricycle driver that they would be charged for having in their possession a knife and illegal drugs.
The mother of the complainant went to the precinct to confer with the then PO2 Nuezca who demanded PhP40,000 for the release of her son and the tricycle driver.
“Desperate to help her son, she asked for more time and at around 10:00 in the morning, relatives of his son and the tricycle driver went to the police precinct with P10,000,’’ the DILG report said.
During the case hearing, Malaya said Nuezca and the other respondents denied the charges and claimed that they were patrolling the area when they apprehended the complainant’s son and the tricycle driver for being “out of line” and later recovered a deadly weapon and a sachet with white powdery substance.
They claimed that they performed a valid warrantless arrest.
“After a careful evaluation of the evidence on record, the Commission En Banc ruled that the prosecution met the required quantum of proof required to establish the culpability of the respondents. It bears stressing that the allegations in the complaint were not specifically refuted by respondents,” said Malaya.
The NAPOLCOM found that Nuezca and respondents failed to submit corroborating evidence to support their claim that they performed a valid warrantless arrest.
Meanwhile, Nuezca is currently in the custody of the chief of police of Paniqui, Tarlac and is facing a case for two counts of murder lodged at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 67 of the same town.
“The PNP Internal Affairs Service also said that they will fast-track the dismissal of Nuezca from the police service,’’ the DILG noted.