ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Resbak gone wrong?': 4 cops detained, 2 commanders sacked over Puerto Princesa 'shootout'

'Resbak gone wrong?': 4 cops detained, 2 commanders sacked over Puerto Princesa 'shootout'

Published Apr 6, 2026 10:10 am

Was it a legitimate police response, or a case of show of force gone wrong?

This is what Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. wants to find out as clearer information started to unfold in relation to the death of two policemen and a member of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.

But this early, an angry Nartatez ordered the detention of four policemen who were among those who responded to the incident after receiving reports that some of those who responded were not uniform and were under the influence of liquor.

“I already directed the Regional Director (Police Regional Office 4B) to lock up the four policemen for responding without the knowledge of their chief of police,” said Nartatez.

“We do not cover up, we do not whitewash. We will make sure that those responsible will be held accountable,” he added.

On Good Friday, April 3, two policemen and a BuCor employee died in what appeared to be a firefight in Barangay Irawan, Puerto Princesa City. The police response was in relation to an earlier altercation in a wake near the house of the BuCor employee.

The wife of the correction officer sought assistance from the BuCor leadership, which in turn, asked the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the matter amid the report that the previous altercation involved a policeman.

Following the initial report that some of the policemen were not in uniform and under the influence of liquor, Nartatez said the directed the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to conduct an investigation to come up with a clear picture of what happened with the intention of holding accountable those who violated the police procedures.

He assured that the investigation is impartial and coordination with the NBI is ongoing.

“We are thoroughly investigating this. The question that need to be answered is why they were not in uniform at a time when we were in full alert status, and why are they under the influence of liquor,” said Nartatez. 

And for Nartatez, the incident would have not happened if the policemen were properly guided by their immediate commanders. In this case, he said the response of the policemen during the incident was not in accordance with police procedure.

“This would have not happened if the chiefs of police or provincial directors are truly guiding our personnel,” said Nartatez.

And with apparent lack of guidance, Nartatez also relieved two police commanders, including the provincial director of Palawan. 

He also ordered the CIDG and the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) to expedite the investigation into the matter. 

Nartatez said that criminal and administrative charges will be filed against those who would be found liable. 

Related Tags

PNP BuCor
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.