Rody visits wake of Samar cop slain in sting

MANILA, Philippines - President Duterte yesterday condoled with the family of Police Officer 1 Gary Cabaguing who was killed while serving a warrant for the arrest of a known drug pusher in Samar last week.

Duterte was supposed to make the trip on Thursday, but  he was downed by migraine and spinal pains. His doctor advised him to rest for a day.

“I am sad that I have lost Gary, but I am happy to have met you. Masakit talaga mawalan ng myembro sa pamilya (It is painful to lose a family member),” Duterte told Cabaguing’s widow Abigail.

“Ma’am, I share in your grief. We will take care of you… not everyone is given the chance to die for his country,”  the President said.

Duterte earlier said he would give P250,000 from the President’s social fund to the family of police and military personnel killed in the line of duty.

Cabaguing has two sons,  nine-year-old Gareth and two-year-old Brent.

A report on TV5 said a team from the Samar Provincial Public Safety Co. went to Marabut town to serve the warrant for the arrest of Ernesto Gonzales.

They were about to enter the house when Gonzales, a former rebel returnee, fired from a foxhole he dug in the house.

PO1 Nestor Villanueva was injured. The President visited him at the St. Paul’s Hospital in Tacloban City yesterday.