Rookie cop dismissed for indiscriminate firing of gun

MANILA, Philippines - A rookie policeman was dismissed from the service for indiscriminately firing his gun.

The offense took place in Northern Samar three years ago.

Police Officer 1 Arnel Delmoro, a member of the Las Navas Police Station, was removed from the roster of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on orders of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Records showed that Delmoro, who was then drunk, fired his M16 rifle and challenged everyone to a fight after an argument with a certain Mariano Adora and some provincial guards of Northern Samar.

Delmoro was charged with grave misconduct after investigator Senior Superintendent Ido Adil Abdullah of the Eastern Visayas Police Internal Affairs found him guilty.

Delmoro appealed his case to the National Police Commission (Napolcom) Regional Appellate Board in Eastern Visayas.

However, his appeal was dismissed and the decision of the Eastern Visayas police was affirmed.

The Department of Interior and Local Government Legal Service also affirmed the decision of the Napolcom Appellate Board.

Meanwhile, police have reported “a significant drop” in the number of crimes as the year draws to a close.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz said crimes reported between January and November this year has dropped by 39.7 percent as compared to the same period last year.

“We are doing our very best with the available resources to ensure the safety and security of the communities,” he said.

“Aside from our regular police operations, joint letter directives with the Armed Forces of the Philippines were signed in order to address the issue of insurgency and terrorism in the country and strengthen internal security operations.”

Cruz said 276,872 crimes were reported from January to November this year, compared to the 459,130 in the same period last year.

“The gains we have achieved for the past year will serve as our motivation for better police service for 2011,” he said.    – With Mike Frialde