By EJ Roque/PNA
MANILA — Malacañang on Thursday welcomed the Office of the Ombudsman’s filing of charges against a Manila police officer involved in the 2017 killing of a 23-year-old epileptic while conducting an anti-illegal drug operation in Tondo, Manila.
“We welcome it as PRRD (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) says his administration will not tolerate abuse on the part of police officers as there will be hell to pay,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a message to reporters.
In a resolution dated February 28, Ombudsman Samuel Martires ordered the dismissal from service and the filing of murder charges against Police Staff Sgt. Gerry Genalope for grave misconduct.
The Ombudsman said Genalope’s admission that he inflicted fatal wounds on the victim, Djastin Lopez, in self-defense runs counter to witnesses’ statements that they heard Lopez pleading for his life.
The Field Investigation Bureau has been directed to conduct a fact-finding probe to determine if the incident was a legitimate police operation.
Meanwhile, the charges against Genalope’s co-accused, Police Capt. Jojo Salanguit, have been dropped due to insufficiency of evidence.
Malacañang has repeatedly said the Duterte administration is “intolerant” of the abuses being done by some policemen.
